Savills Profits Hit by Political Upheaval in U.K. and Hong Kong

(Bloomberg) --

Political turmoil in Hong Kong and the U.K. is weighing on Savills Plc, the U.K.’s largest publicly-traded property broker.

Profits from advising on transactions halved in the first six months to 9.9 million pounds ($12 million) from a year earlier, as concerns about Brexit and demonstrations in Hong Kong damped demand.

“Political and economic uncertainty has considerably reduced the volume of real estate trading activity in recent months,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Ridley said in the statement Thursday. “Underlying demand for the secure income qualities of real estate remains high, but these macro uncertainties weigh on investor sentiment.”

In the U.K., home sales in the most expensive markets continued to decline, while commercial real estate investment into the country plunged by almost a third in the first half, as buyers and sellers awaited clarity on the terms of the country’s departure from the European Union. Savills has been investing heavily in consultancy, property management and investment management as those revenue streams are less susceptible to cyclical downturns than advising on deals.

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