Countrywide grows profits by 63pc

In 2013 the property services group made profits of £62.9m.

Countrywide arranged 70,529 mortgages to the value of £10.3bn in 2014, an increase of 16% and 24% from 2013.

But Grenville Turner, chairman at Countrywide, warned: “We anticipate some sluggishness in market trends over the first half of 2015 in the lead up to the election. “

He added: “The group has delivered a record set of results for 2014, its first full year of trading since IPO, which show strong growth in both income and profits, underpinned by robust recurring revenues.

“However, the resilience we derive from our broad-based business, our low leverage and our proven ability to deliver growth in a challenging market positions us well to take advantage of sustainable growth in our lettings and commercial businesses and capitalise quickly on the upturn as the residential sales market recovers in the medium to long-term.”

Countrywide’s total income reached £702.2m in 2014, up from £584.8m in 2013.

Alison Platt, Countrywide’s chief executive, said it will continue to grow its lettings business through property management and investment in the private rental sector.

She added: “I believe that these activities, together with the escalation of our commercial real estate activities, where there are also many opportunities to grow recurring revenue streams, position us well to achieve our aim of building a broad-based business that can perform well and deliver robust shareholder returns throughout the market cycle.

“I look forward to leading the group through the next chapter of growth for the benefit of our customers, employees and shareholders.”