Shares in Britain’s biggest estate agent, Countrywide (CWD), plunged 16% on Thursday as it issued a profit warning for 2017.
Pre-tax profit for 2017 residential estate agency and property services company is expected at £65 million, down from £83.5 million in 2016. The company, which owns estate agency brands Hamptons and Bairstow Eves, lost 32% of its value in 2017.
The expected drop is down to a "disappointing fourth quarter performance" in sales & letting, where full-year income is expected to be £360 million, down 14% on 2016. Income in London and the UK is expected to be down 10% and 17% year-on-year, respectively.
Growth in the UK housing market has been slowing down in recent months, according to most surveys, and prices have been falling in London.
The largest shareholders are listed as Oaktree Capital with 33%, Brandes Investment Partners with 19%, Apollo Investors has 10%, Harris Associates has 7.6%. Investec Asset Management owns 6.2% of the estate agent, while Jupiter Asset Management owns 5.8% in aggregate.
Countrywide makes up more than 1% of Neutral-rated Jupiter UK Growth and the two-star rated investment trust version (JUKG), and Jupiter Absolute Return Fund, which has a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Bronze. The company is also held by Investec UK Total Return Fund, making up nearly 1% of the fund’s portfolio.
Fidelity UK Smaller Companies also holds Countrywide, although the share only makes up 0.15% of the fund’s portfolio. The fund is rated Bronze by Morningstar analysts and has a three-star performance rating.
Franklin Templeton owns 5.8% of the company, and JO Hambro Capital Management owns 5.1%.