LSL Property Services said brokers across its network lifted total revenue by 3% to £22.6m, in the first six months of the year, adding that “interest rate uncertainty continues to suppress refinancing volumes”.
However, the listed property group — which holds mortgage clubs Primis, TMA and Linear in its financial services unit – said that adviser sales across the whole of the UK home loans market were around 5% higher.
Its financial services unit’s new mortgage lending grew by 23% to £15.2bn.
The arm turned in a statutory operating profit down 17% to £2.4m, compared to a year ago, the group said in a trading statement to the end of June.
Its number of network firms fell by 5% to 1,084 over the period, as it cut numbers in protection.
Network protection revenue fell by 12% to £6.6m, “reflecting the impact of strategic repositioning away from protection-only brokers”.
The group’s financial services arm also holds its Pivotal Growth mortgage and protection joint venture, established in 2021 with asset manager Pollen Street.
It said Pivotal Growth now has over 500 advisers, “giving it critical mass to leverage its scale to attract deals and drive revenue synergies and profitability”.
The joint venture has bought 19 businesses since launch, including John Charcol and The Buy to Let Broker. This also includes two acquisitions completed in the third quarter of this year.
The group said its share of profit Pivotal Growth in the period was around £100,000, up from a £400,000 loss a year ago.
The financial services unit posted sales virtually unchanged at £23.5m over the period.
LSL chief executive Adam Castleton, who took over in May, said: “As expected, the changes to stamp duty on 1 April 2025 led to a spike in housing transactions, resulting in an improvement in market activity, while interest rate uncertainty continued to suppress refinancing volumes, which were 10% lower than the prior year.
“We held our strong share in each of our markets and are well-positioned to take advantage of the increased refinancing activity expected in the second quarter of the year.
Overall, the group, which also includes surveying (which holds e.surv) and estate agency arms, posted a pre-tax profit down 18% at £11.3m on revenue up 5% at £89.7m from a year ago.
