Tough property market sees ESPC profits slide, but investment goes on

Last year’s worsening market for home property sales has driven down profits and turnover at the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESPC).

The firm, which counts registrations of sold property as income, said turnover in the year to the end of May fell to £8.8 million from £11.4m in the previous year. Pre-tax profits were lower at £949,000 from £1.6m.

ESPC – which markets properties on behalf of members in the east of Scotland – made a number of investments in its operations during the year, including the relaunch of its website and a refurbishment of its showroom on Edinburgh’s George Street, totalling £200,000.

Chief executive Malcolm Cannon said: “The market is still more depressed than we’d like. But even in a rough market we have still made good profits.”

The company, owned by its 170 member solicitor estate agents, has been profitable now for three years, despite seeing the number of properties it marketed fall from a peak of 22,500 a year to 10,400 last year.

ESPC said it was now debt-free, with a strong balance sheet and an improved cash position compared with a year ago, providing the financial security needed to continue to develop services for a “radically” changed property market.

Cannon said that the firm would invest £400,000 in further improvements this year, including in a mobile version of its website.