Agency 2006: UK professional firms compared

Savills heads the Agency 2006 league table with a UK turnover of £254.6m, more than 30% higher than its nearest competitor

The top 10 firms remain unchanged and, with the exception of Lambert Smith Hampton, all report a double-digit percentage increase in turnover

13 of the 69 firms questioned report year-on-year turnover increases of 20% or more

The turbulence caused by two failed takeover attempts makes Nelson Bakewellthe biggest faller, with a 9% decrease in turnover

CB Richard Ellis heads the global league table with a turnover of £1.51bn and the European table with a turnover of £317.6m

69% of firms questioned say they would consider acquiring or merging with another firm in the next 12 months

Top property services firms ranked by UK turnover

Methodology

Questionnaires were sent to 124 firms in March. This year, 44 firms declined to take part, and a further 11 failed to respond by the deadline. The criteria for inclusion was the provision of a gross UK turnover figure, most of which had to be from commercial activity.

The questionnaire asked respondents for their views on the future of the investment market, the possibility of merging with other companies, and new growth areas of business. Seven out of the 69 firms ranked declined to answer the questions. Twenty-three refused to declare their profit, while three firms refused to declare revenues derived from residential activities.

We have relied on the data provided by respondents, supplemented by phone calls and emails. If you would like to take part in next year’s survey and have not before, please email Claer Barrett on cbarrett@cmpi.biz. Last year’s survey was published on 10.06.05, p34.

Results will follow online shortly.

Top property services firms ranked by turnover per fee earner

Rapid ascent: Mason & Partners

‘We’re not planning to take over the world,’ says Andrew Mason, one of Mason & Partners’ directors, by way of apology at finding his firm at the top of the Agency 2006 turnover by fee-earner table. ‘It was a one-off. It probably won’t happen again this year.’

While it may be a ‘one-off’, there is no denying that the London- and Liverpool-based company had an exceptional year which propelled them from 16th in 2005 to the top of this year’s table.

‘We advised on a number of good investment deals with one-off fees,’ Mason explains.

‘We act mainly for retailers, and on the back of that we were able to get involved with some good instructions.’

One of the significant deals in which Mason & Partners was involved was the sale of the Parkgate scheme in Rotherham. The 562,000 sq ft (52,200 sq m) retail park was sold by the Stadium Group in February last year for £260m.

‘That was a big deal to be involved in,’ Mason says. ‘But our success is down to our staff. We have largely the same staff as we had when we set up 13 years ago and it’s a great team. We’re just a small firm and we’re happy as we are.’