M Winkworth Plc

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2025

M Winkworth Plc ("Winkworth" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025.

Highlights for the period:

·    Network revenues 15% higher at £32.0 million (H1 2024: £27.9 million)

o  Network sales revenues up by 27% to £16.9 million (H1 2024: £13.4 million)

o  Network lettings revenues up by 4% to £15.1 million (H1 2024: £14.5 million)

·    Network sales revenues accounted for 53% of total network revenues (H1 2024: 48%)

·    Winkworth revenues up by 1% at £5.20 million (H1 2024: £5.14 million)

·    Four majority-owned businesses generated revenues of £1.67 million and PBT of £0.08 million (H1 2024: revenues of £1.51 million; PBT: -£0.04 million)

·    Profit before taxation down by 19% to £0.83 million (H1 2024: £1.02 million), largely reflecting one off costs including office relocation and a planned increase in marketing spend in prime central London

·    Net cash generated from operating activities doubled to £0.96m (H1 2024: £0.48m)

·    Cash balance at 30 June 2025 of £3.86 million (30 June 2024: £4.12 million); no debt in both periods

·    Three new offices opened and two refranchised

·    Increased ordinary dividends of 6.6p (H1 2024: 6.0p) per share declared during the period.

Dominic Agace, CEO of the Company, commented:

We are delighted with our performance in sales in H1 2025 and the solid contribution from lettings, where management fees are making an increasingly important contribution. Net cash generated by the business nearly doubled compared to the first half of 2024, and we have continued to invest in our franchisees, while supporting them through new marketing initiatives. We have also substantially increased the payout to shareholders. Further activity in our network should result in us finishing the year above our target of opening or reselling eight franchises per year.

Investor presentation

Dominic Agace, CEO of the Company, and Andrew Nicol, CFO of the Company, will present the Interim Results via the Investor Meet Company platform on 17 September 2025 at 11.00 BST.

The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders who can sign up and register to participate for free at:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/m-winkworth-plc/register-investor

Investors who already follow Winkworth on the Investor Meet Company platform will automatically be invited.

For further information please contact:

About Winkworth

Winkworth is the leading London franchisor of residential real estate agencies with a pre-eminent position in the mid to upper segments of the sales and lettings markets. The franchise model allows entrepreneurial real estate professionals to provide the highest standards of service under the banner of a long-established brand name and to benefit from the support and promotion that Winkworth offers.

Winkworth is admitted to trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.

For further information please visit: www.winkworthplc.com

Chair's Statement

I am pleased to report that royalty fees from franchising continued to rise in the first half of this year. At Group level, it is clear that sales are reverting to being the prime revenue earner for the business, having risen from 48% of turnover in the last financial year to 53% of turnover in H1 2025.

As anticipated, 2025 has to-date been characterised by a high volume of properties for sale, these being reported as running at 10% above the average of recent years. I am delighted that our franchisees have been able to take advantage of the upturn in instructions, especially at our newly opened offices, enabling these to become established quickly.

The sharp increase in sales in the first quarter of the year, in advance of the reduction in the stamp duty exemption threshold for first time buyers as of April 2025, provided a powerful reminder of how government intervention can influence the market. We watch with interest the suggestions of proposals for further reforms in the Autumn Budget. A tax on the sale of higher value properties, for example, which, if implemented, would be a form of double taxation on owners who have already paid stamp duty on the purchase price, could prove to be a further hurdle for transactions at the top end of the market.

Within our lettings and management business, the 'let only' side of the business, that is private landlords instructing Winkworth to source tenants without using our full management service, has shown some decline. It is interesting to note, however, that the revenue from property management, where typically we both find the tenant and provide ongoing management services, has increased in many of our offices. We believe that, in an ever more demanding regulatory environment in the rentals market, a rising number of private landlords are relinquishing managing their own property investments and instructing Winkworth in order to benefit from its specialist management skills.

This also means that the Group has seen a flow of sales of 'let only' rental investments, with up to 10% of the rented-only property portfolio being offered for sale. In the short term, some of this rental stock is likely to return to the market as a result of vendors not achieving their anticipated price levels and choosing to relet properties pending a market improvement. There is an identifiable shift, however, away from private landlords towards institutions looking to enter this market through new-build accommodation.

Turnover from our equity-owned offices is still growing, with Pimlico achieving a 31% year-on-year increase in the first half of 2025, Crystal Palace a 21% increase, and more modest growth from Tooting of 3%, which has consistently recorded a high level of activity. 

We remain confident for the future and, as always, are grateful to all of our franchisees for their dedication to their customers and their ability to adapt to an ever-changing marketplace.

Simon Agace
Non-Executive Chair
16 September 2025

CEO's Statement

The first half of this year marked another successful period for the Group, with network revenue 15% ahead of H1 2024. Sales activity was the main driver, with revenue up by 27% year-on-year. After more subdued activity in recent years, our outer London offices were prime beneficiaries of falling interest rates and, consequently, reduced mortgage rates, leading the way with comparable revenue growth of 33%. Our Central London offices also showed a revival, with growth in revenue of 25%, reflecting our reinvestment in this area and a realistic approach by sellers to accept pricing changes and transact. 

The picture outside of London was more mixed. The race to beat the April 2025 deadline on stamp duty thresholds proved to be a strong motivation in the first quarter of the year, but this was followed by a slowdown in the second quarter, leading to an aggregate increase in revenues of 20% compared to H1 2024.

Overall, our network transactions rose by 21% over H1 2025, markedly outperforming the increase in the national average.

As noted in the 16 July 2025 trading update, our Lettings and Management business was more subdued, growing by 4% at the end of the period. But while lettings revenue fell by 4%, management fees rose by 10% and now represent 25% of network turnover. These numbers reflect our network adjusting to a tightening of supply of rental stock as landlords exit the sector and our franchisees provide an increased level of service to those remaining, typically in need of greater help to manage changing legislation and increased regulation.

Our ongoing policy of investing in people continues to pay off, with a variety of options on offer to talented operators at different stages of their careers and with varying financial circumstances. This flexibility is allowing us to attract a high-quality pool of ambitious managers that we can match to new openings or resales. We also continue to provide support to existing franchisees with the desire and experience to expand their territories or acquire further businesses.

We opened three new offices in H1 2025 in Clapham, West Putney and Belsize Park, and resold two offices in Beckenham and Hammersmith. A further two offices in Newbury and Weybridge have already been resold in H2 2025 and two more offices are scheduled to be resold and a further two offices are due to open before the end of the year. Of these 11 offices, three involve existing franchisees expanding their footprint and nine are within greater London, where growth is currently strongest and there is the headroom for both new and existing franchisees to add value to the Group. Two offices, Worthing and Wimbledon, will have closed over the course of 2025, positioning us above our target of opening or reselling eight franchises per year.

We saw a significant improvement in the performance of our equity-owned offices in Crystal Palace, Pimlico and Tooting. The latter has benefitted from strengthened management and, we believe, will show an acceleration in performance in H2 2025.

In H1 2025, gross revenues of the franchised network of £32.0m were 15% higher year-on-year (H1 2024: £27.9m). Total sales income was 26% higher at £16.9m (H1 2024: £13.4m) while Lettings and Management increased by 4% to £15.1m (H1 2024 £14.5m).

At £5.20m, Winkworth's revenues were 1% higher than H1 2024 (H1 2024: £5.14m) with the year-on-year comparable numbers being impacted by timing differences on revenues booked on new or resold franchise agreements, in particular, the ongoing proceeds from the sale of the Kennington lettings business to our Kennington sales franchisee. Profit before taxation declined by 19% to £0.83m (H1 2024: £1.02m), largely as a result of a planned increase in marketing costs in prime Central London to support the new talent and other one-off costs, relating to our head office move and consultancy work relating to our systems development. Net cash generated from operating activities doubled to £0.96m (H1 2024: £0.48m). After an increase in pre-paid acquisition support to franchisees and a 10% increase in ordinary dividends paid, the Group's cash stood at £3.86m at 30 June 2025 (H1 2024: £4.12m) with no debt. Increased ordinary dividends of 6.6p (H1 2024: 6.0p) per ordinary share were declared for the first half of the year.  

Outlook

After the strong uplift in Q1 completions ahead of the stamp duty holiday in April 2025, activity slowed in Q2, but we have since seen renewed interest from sales applicants over the summer, up by around 10% year-on-year. This provides encouragement for a busier autumn market, albeit that the autumn statement will inevitably be a cause of uncertainty.

The Bank of England's cut to Bank Rate in August, to 4.0%, is feeding through to lower mortgage costs, improving affordability, particularly for first-time buyers, with any further cuts set to provide additional support. UK house prices have remained resilient and we expect modest growth of up to 4% in 2025, with London expected to outperform as confidence and demand improve. We expect transactions to pick up in the autumn with stronger buyer sentiment as inflation cools and wages continue to outpace living costs.

We expect the rental market to stabilise in H2 2025, with prices remaining subdued, providing some relief for tenants after years of steep rises. In the medium term, however, structural undersupply suggests that rental pressures will return in 2026.

Our focus remains on growing the business through recruiting best-in-class operators, supporting our franchisees, and expanding our network, positioning Winkworth to continue to build market share and deliver sustainable returns.

Dominic Agace

Chief Executive Officer

16 September 2025

M WINKWORTH PLC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

                 M WINKWORTH PLC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

as at 30 June 2025

M WINKWORTH PLC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

M WINKWORTH PLC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

M WINKWORTH PLC

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

ii.           CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

The amounts disclosed in the cash flow statement in respect of cash and cash equivalents are in respect of these balance sheet amounts:

M WINKWORTH PLC

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED INTERIM RESULTS

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

1.           ACCOUNTING POLICIES

              Basis of preparation

The interim report for the six months ended 30 June 2025 and the comparative information for the periods ended 30 June 2024 and 31 December 2024 do not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 434 of the Companies Act 2006.  A copy of the most recent statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.  The auditor's report on these accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial information for the six months ended 30 June 2025 and 30 June 2024 is unaudited. The financial information for the year ended 31 December 2024 is derived from the group's audited annual report and accounts.

The annual financial statements are prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standards (UK IFRS). The condensed set of financial statements included in this interim financial report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 'Interim Financial Reporting'.

The accounting policies and methods of computation used in this financial information is consistent with those applied in the group's latest annual audited financial statements, except as noted below.

Taxation

Income tax expense has been recognised based on the best estimate of the weighted average annual effective income tax rate expected for the full financial year.

Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all material temporary differences that have originated but not reversed at the balance sheet date.

M WINKWORTH PLC

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED INTERIM RESULTS

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

2.          SEGMENTAL REPORTING

The board of directors, as the chief operating decision making body, review financial information and make decisions about the group's business and have identified a single operating segment, that of estate agency and related services and the franchising thereof.

The directors believe that there are two material revenue streams relevant to estate agency franchising.

All revenue is earned in the UK and no customer represents more than 10% of total revenue in either of the years reported.

M WINKWORTH PLC

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED INTERIM RESULTS

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

3.          EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic and diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period.

M WINKWORTH PLC

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED INTERIM RESULTS

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

4.          INTANGIBLE ASSETS

5.          FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Categories of financial instruments

Listed investments are valued by reference to publicly available share prices and are considered at level 1 under the IFRS 13 fair value hierarchy.

M WINKWORTH PLC

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED INTERIM RESULTS

for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025

                 7.          RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

During the 6 months to 30 June 2025, total dividends of £433,558 (30 June 2024: £394,144) were paid to the directors.

8.          POST BALANCE SHEET EVENTS

On 16 July 2025, M Winkworth Plc declared dividends of 3.3p per ordinary share for the second quarter of 2025.

9.          INTERIM RESULTS

Copies of this notice are available to the public from the registered office at Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6AF, and on the Company's website at www.winkworthplc.com