The last decade has seen over 1,000 conveyancing firms go “missing in action”, says Search Acumen.

Since 2011, the active firm number has dropped from 4,836 to 3,808, the data provider details.

Search Acumen believes that this is down to increase merger and acquisition activity following “challenging trading conditions”, with greater economic volatility and uncertainty over Brexit singled out as main causes.

Across the same time frame, the average number of transactions per conveyancing firm has grown by 64 per cent – 36 per quarter to 59 per quarter.

There was, of course, disruption last year: the total number of transactions in Q2 2020 was 82,385 – 65 per cent down on the 236,641 seen in 2020 Q1 2020 and the number of active firms in H1 2020 fell to an all-time low of 2,411.

Even with a rebound to 3,808 by Q4 2020, the number of active firms is lower than at any other point recorded before the pandemic.

Search Acumen director Andy Sommerville says: “These figures demonstrate the scale of consolidation and competitive pressures in the conveyancing market over the last decade, as some conveyancers have exited and larger firms have joined forces.

“Greater consolidation in the market means fewer firms are generally handling larger transaction volumes, with the obvious exception of the pandemic period. Employers have an important part to play in ensuring they are set up to meet the challenge of completing more cases while handling the pressures of maintaining client service and meeting client expectations.

“The current rush of activity prompted by the stamp duty holiday shows the pressures that can be placed on businesses by a surge in activity that can leave systems and processes under severe pressure. It is vital firms make the most of digital tools and investing in upskilling to strengthen their capacity to cope, as well as ensuring employee wellbeing remains front-of-mind.

“The property industry must break free from traditional ways of working that belong to a bygone era. Greater digitisation and investment in training to use new technology productively will help to manage competitive pressures and provide clients with the kind of responsive services they expect in a world where on-demand services are common in other sectors.”