Knight Frank LLP (“Knight Frank”), the world’s leading independent property advisor, today announced its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2012.
Highlights:
-
Group turnover up 8% to £333.9m (2011: £308.4m)
-
Group profit before tax £95.9m (2011: £101.9m)
-
Strong balance sheet with minimal intangible assets – net cash balances £98.5m (2011: £91.7m)
-
Unutilised £30m revolving credit facility
-
Staff numbers up 4% to 7,067 globally
Nick Thomlinson, senior partner, Knight Frank commented: “Knight Frank has again delivered strong performances across our global network in what have continued to be very challenging markets.
“Our strong links to international capital through our global network have ensured our teams have had an exceptional year and been involved with some of the world’s leading transactions. For example, recent highlights include:
-
the sale of Battersea Power Station to a Malaysian consortium for a reported £400m,
-
the sale of St John’s Wood Barracks to a global investor for a reported 250m,
-
ongoing office leasing for the Shard, the tallest building Western Europe
-
the sale of the most expensive house on record in the UK
-
the sale of 18 Kowloon East in Hong Kong for HK$2.51 billion
-
the sale of 215 Adelaide Street & 235 Edward Street in Brisbane for AUS$134.5m
“The firm has made substantial investment into the business over the past year as we believe that this represents the right time to build for the future and continue to extend our global network.
“We have opened new offices, with both commercial and residential capabilities, and grown in areas where we feel there is room for expansion. These include offices in South Africa, Calcutta, Dubai and Qatar, four offices around the UK and two offices in Australia. Moving forward, we plan to open further offices in Scandinavia and Germany, as well as other strategic Asia Pacific locations.
“Knight Frank launched its award-winning iPad / iPhone app, which is fast approaching four million property views, and have created the world’s first global search engine on our website, giving direct access to properties across the world in 8 languages, rising to 21 languages by the end of 2012.”