Final Results

Savills PLC 4 July 2000 SAVILLS PROFITS RISE BY 31% SAVILLS plc GROUP RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2000 - Group pre-tax profit was up 31% at £20.2m (1999 - £15.4m). - Group turnover increased by 39% to £141.9m (1999 - £102.4m). - Earnings per share were up 38% at 27.8p (1999 - 20.1p). - Proposed year-end dividend of 4.5p (net) per share making a total for the year of 7.5p (1999 - 5.75p), a 30% increase. Richard Jewson, Chairman of Savills plc, comments: 'This has been a notable year in the life of your Company. Our exceptional staff have again taken full advantage of conditions in the market. 'We have taken two significant strategic steps forward in the development of FPDSavills as an international property services group with the acquisition of First Pacific Davies Limited and our strategic alliance with Trammell Crow Company, one of the leading US commercial real estate companies. 'The current financial year has started positively across the board including contributions from Europe and Asia Pacific. With 89 offices and associates in 19 countries and our alliance with Trammell Crow Company we can offer a broad international service and perspective to clients. Although markets are now quieter than they have been recently, we believe that the conditions exist to allow the many initiatives we have taken to bear fruit and we expect to make further progress this year.' Chairman's Statement, Operating and Financial Reviews & Preliminary Announcement of Results follow For further information please contact: Aubrey Adams, Group Chief Executive, Savills plc 020 7409 9923 Andy Yeo, Buchanan Communications Morning 020 7409 9923 Afternoon 020 7466 5000 Savills plc. Registered in England No. 2122174. Registered Office 20 Grosvenor Hill, Berkeley Square, London W1K 3HQ CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT RESULTS This has been a notable year in the life of your Company. I am delighted to announce a 31% increase in pre-tax profit to £20.2m (1999 - £15.4m) for the year ended 30 April 2000, during which we have also made considerable progress in our international development. Earnings per share are up 38% at 27.8p (1999 - 20.1p) and over the last 10 years we have achieved earnings per share growth of 16.6% compound. Turnover increased by 39% to £141.9m (1999 - £102.4m), and we are pleased that operating profit margins in the UK property services business have increased slightly. Shareholders' funds have increased from £45.3m to £69.6m, including cash balances of £29.1m. Our exceptional staff have again taken full advantage of conditions in the market. DIVIDEND The Board is recommending a final dividend of 4.5p (net) per share making a total for the year of 7.5p (1999 - 5.75p), a 30% increase. The dividend is covered 3.4 times. HIGHLIGHTS We have taken two significant strategic steps forward in the development of FPDSavills as an international property services group. - On 7 April 2000 we completed the acquisition of Hong Kong based First Pacific Davies Limited (now called FPDSavills Asia Pacific Limited) from First Pacific Company; the company contributed £406,000 profit before interest and tax to the Group for the period to 30 April 2000; and - since the year-end, we have formed a strategic alliance with Trammell Crow Company, one of the leading diversified commercial real estate companies in the US, the world's largest real estate market. The acquisition of First Pacific Davies marked the culmination of an association which started in 1997, with the establishment of a joint international network and a common branding, and which provides the Group with extensive coverage throughout Asia Pacific and Australia. The consideration for the transaction was HK$225m (£18.1m) in cash and 7.8m (£14.4m) new shares in Savills. Under the US alliance, Trammell Crow Company purchased 10% of the Company's shares from First Pacific Company and we have entered into an option agreement, which allows Trammell Crow Company to increase their holding up to 20%. As part of the transaction, we have formed a corporate real estate joint venture in Europe, which includes both Trigon Limited, our existing facilities management company, and our Corporate Services business. The new company, branded Trammell Crow Savills, is owned 51% by Trammell Crow Company and 49% by Savills and will utilise Trammell Crow's expertise and US client base. We plan to extend this joint venture concept into Asia Pacific in due course. This continued expansion of the Group outside its traditional UK market enables us to meet the increasingly international requirements of clients and will facilitate the development of further international opportunities in the future. Our existing offices in Europe are being strengthened and have made a contribution to profit. In the UK, FPDSavills Limited raised profits by 78% on the back of a strong residential property market, particularly in London. Since the year-end we have committed to offices in Wimbledon and Windsor. FPDSavills Commercial Limited again performed extremely well, with both the agency and professional teams taking market share from competitors. Investment agency was particularly strong. We have had a good response to the launch of the Charities Property Fund by Savills Fund Management. Savills Finance Holdings plc has made significant progress. Grosvenor Hill Ventures Limited sustained profitability with further sales and the acquisition of Yorkshire Mill Village, a retail outlet complex, in Batley. Savills Private Finance Limited is now trading profitably and has launched NetMortgage, an on-line mortgage search and select facility. The Schroder's Residential Property Unit Trust, which we manage, has made its first purchases since the year-end. BOARD AND STAFF David Davies, who founded First Pacific Davies and joined our board in 1997, sadly died in June after a brave struggle against cancer. His vision and enthusiasm were important ingredients in bringing our businesses together; a key step in making Savills a truly international property adviser. He made a significant contribution to our deliberations and we extend sympathy to his wife and family. The number of Non-Executive Directors has increased to six with the appointments of Michael Healy and David Eastlake with effect from 7 April 2000 as representatives of First Pacific Company; and of William J Concannon and H Pryor Blackwell with effect from 30 June 2000 as representatives of Trammell Crow Company. We are delighted to welcome these new colleagues who bring with them a great breadth of experience and expertise. Godfrey Blott resigned as a Non- Executive Director during the year and we are grateful to him for his contribution to the international development of the Group. We were also pleased to announce the Executive appointments of David Wong, Chief Executive Officer of FPDSavills Asia Pacific Limited, on 7 April 2000 and of Robert McKellar as Finance Director on 1 June 2000 and to confirm that Aubrey Adams, previously Managing Director, now has the title of Group Chief Executive. Geoffrey van Cutsem will resign as a Director at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting but will continue as chairman of FPDSavills Limited. We are most grateful to Geoffrey van Cutsem for the tremendous contribution that he has made to the Board over the past 13 years and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future. I willingly pay tribute again to our staff throughout the Group. We have a great many talented people fully committed to adding value to our clients. Our reward system is an important mechanism in providing a balance between the interests of staff and shareholders. OUTLOOK The current financial year has started positively across the board including contributions from Europe and Asia Pacific. With 89 offices and associates in 19 countries and our alliance with Trammell Crow Company we can offer a broad international service and perspective to clients. Although markets are quieter than they have been recently, we believe that the conditions exist to allow the many initiatives we have taken to bear fruit and we expect to make further progress this year. Richard Jewson, Chairman OPERATING REVIEW SUMMARY Group turnover increased by 39% to £141.9m (1999 - £102.4m). Group turnover excluding property sales increased by 43% from £89.4m to £127.4m. Group pre-tax profit for the year was £20.2m (1999 - £15.4m), an increase of 31%. It is proposed to increase the total dividend for the year by 30% to 7.5p (net) per share (1999 - 5.75p). The performance of our main operating segments was as follows: - FPDSavills had an outstanding year, with profits up 78% to £9.3m (1999 - £5.2m) on turnover of £68.7m (1999 - £48.0m). - The Commercial businesses (including FPDSavills Commercial Limited, FPDSavills Asia Pacific Limited, Trigon Limited and the European subsidiaries) continued to perform well, increasing turnover by 40% to £54.9m (1999 - £39.1m) and pre-tax profit by 29% to £9.4m (1999 - £7.3m). - The property companies (including the Grosvenor Hill Ventures Group and co-investment companies) generated a profit of £2.1m on turnover of £14.5m. - Average staff numbers increased from 1,238 to 2,311 and, as at the year-end, the total staff number had increased to 11,508 (1999 - 1,456) largely as a result of the acquisition of First Pacific Davies. Incentive payments totalled £29.6m compared with £18.6m last year, reflecting the outstanding performance in the property services businesses. PROPERTY SERVICES The property services subsidiaries, trading under the FPDSavills brand, had an excellent year with record profits within the two main operating companies. The international side of the business has also made great strides with the acquisition in April of First Pacific Davies Limited (now called FPDSavills Asia Pacific Limited), the holding company for the Asia Pacific business. The strategic alliance with Trammell Crow Company in the US completed after the year- end, on 30 June 2000. FPDSavills' leading position in the UK market was recognised by topping the Estates Gazette League Table of chartered surveying businesses; the rapid expansion of our international coverage places us amongst the handful of companies that can offer genuine integrated services on a world-wide basis. Summaries of the main practice areas for our European businesses are set out below and further commentary on the other international operations is given under a separate heading. Agency Commercial Agency With a strong focus on the areas of the country where demand has been highest and consequently where activity and growth in rents has moved ahead fastest, our business space team in particular had a most successful year, with West End and regional offices also showing significant increases in profitability. Highlights included: Acquisition of the former Paddington Goods Yard site on behalf of Development Securities Plc, Norwich Union and Equitable Life for £77m. The scheme has planning permission for approximately 1.9m sq ft of offices, 70,000 sq ft of retail and 200,000 sq ft of residential. Speculative development of the site will commence in October 2000. Acquisitions by the National Industrial team, which has been extremely active on new developments and occupier work across the UK, of: 80,000 sq ft pre-let acquisition in Uxbridge for new Head Quarters and Distribution Centre for Pizza Express; 80,000 sq ft on a new industrial scheme at Heathrow for Alpha Catering; and a 106,000 sq ft warehouse sale in Leicester for Mattel. Acquisition of 50% interest in Central Park, Rugby (120 acres); acquisition of 120,000 sq ft JIT facility for Johnson Controls in Redditch; letting of speculative distribution development (205,000 sq ft) at Hams Hall, Birmingham; portfolio valuation of University of Warwick Science Park; and development consultancy and agency on Newcastle Great Park (2.5m sq ft). Hotels Our expanding Hotels team had another good year, completing and formally valuing hotels and serviced apartments valued at more than £1,100m. The department gave agency and valuations advice on properties with an overall value of £1,800m. Healthcare Since the year-end a specialist team has been recruited to advise on valuation, acquisition and disposal of nursing and residential homes and other specialist areas. Retail Warehousing The Retail Warehouse team performed strongly this year. The planning regime continues to restrict the supply of new developments thereby increasing the value of existing out of town locations. The team provided letting advice to Grantchester PLC on 11 retail parks throughout the UK. Advice was provided to Pillar Property PLC on two of the country's leading shopping parks at Fosse Park, Leicester (415,000 sq ft) and Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh (580,000 sq ft). At Fosse Park, pre-lettings were completed with New Look and Sports Soccer at £80 per sq ft and £81 per sq ft, recording the highest rental levels achieved to date within the sector. Development Notable residential developments in which we have been involved included the Prudential's Knightsbridge Green Estate in London, part of which was sold at what is believed to be a record price per acre for a residential site in London; and being appointed as sole agents for Gleeson Homes' Netherne-on-the-Hill new village development in Surrey, comprising over 400 units. Residential Extremely strong market conditions throughout the year led to a doubling of profits in all regions and an increase in market share. The market was particularly buoyant for the very best properties, where prices often exceeded expectations. In total £1.6bn of property was sold, an increase of 50% over the previous year. Notable transactions included Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire (guide price £15m), Mentmore Towers (guide price £3m - 5m) and the Piccadilly Estate (formerly known as the In and Out Club). Central London values have risen by about 30% and in the country by about 19% during the year. After hectic activity at the start of the year, the market is well balanced between supply and demand with prospects for another good year ahead. Agricultural Agency The recession in all sectors of the agricultural industry continued during the year. However, despite falling farm incomes, the amount of land being offered for sale publicly in 1999 was 25% less than the average for the preceeding four years and values held up remarkably well. A three tier market developed with strongest demand being for farms with a quality house, reflecting the strength of the residential market, whereas values for more commercial farms in areas with lower amenity softened by between 10% to 20%. Hardest to sell have been off-lying blocks of commercial land where there is no interest from neighbouring farmers. FPDSavills continued to dominate the agency market; our in- house agricultural research department estimating that the company has handled an annual average of one acre in every five advertised in the Farmers Weekly and Country Life over the last five years. The most notable transaction with which FPDSavills was involved during 1999 was the Duchy of Cornwall's acquisition of the Prudential's 28,000 acre rural property portfolio. Investment Commercial Investment The commercial investment market has continued its strong run against a background of historically stable interest rates and steady economic growth, providing prospects for sustainable rental growth on high quality properties. The investment team had an exceptional year with turnover some 50% up on last year. Notable transactions included: - Acting on behalf of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in the acquisition of a Sainsbury foodstores portfolio in the sum of £325m, comprising an innovative bond issue. - The sale on behalf of Grantchester plc of a retail warehouse portfolio in the sum of £80.3m to RREEF. - The sale of Kensington Village Phase I, Avonmore Row, London for MWB to Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust, whilst on behalf of Standard Life Investments we sold Port Road Retail Park, Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff to Legal and General Property Limited for £22.5m. Fund Management Savills Fund Management enjoyed another strong year. Discretionary pension fund clients outperformed their benchmarks by a wide margin in 1999. This performance was recognised when the team won the Investment Property Databank/Investment Property Forum (IPD/IPF) Award for the Best Performing Pension Fund over £100m for the three years to December 1999. In April 2000 Savills Fund Management announced the creation of the Charities Property Fund. This is the first property based common investment fund enabling charities to invest in commercial property on a pooled basis. The Fund is wholly tax efficient with investors benefiting from the valuable exemption from Stamp Duty. It is intended that this Fund will grow to over £100m within 12 months. Residential Investment The emerging residential investment market provides FPDSavills with a unique opportunity to capitalise on the full range of services that we offer in this sector. The acquisition of an Oxford based residential corporate management business in October 1999 from Bradford & Bingley Estate Agencies Limited enables us to provide a comprehensive one stop shop to investors. We intend to consolidate all our residential portfolio management business and client accounting in one centre of excellence. Professional Commercial Valuation The Commercial Valuation department continues to raise its profile in the loan security market being voted 'Top of the Class' by the Association of Property Bankers. It is also developing its securitisation advisory business, which is a major growth area. The department was appointed as the valuer for the recent Sainsbury's food superstore securitisation and for Canary Wharf's second securitisation, as well as the latter's earlier flotation. Our turnover and profit have increased by 33% per annum compound over the last five years. Building Consultancy Our Building Consultancy department has extended its geographic coverage with a principal office in London and regional teams in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Glasgow, Manchester, Norwich and Wimborne. Each team offers a full range of services with core competencies covering design, building surveying, project management, acquisition and stock condition surveys. Notable projects have included the refurbishment of INVESCO Europe Limited's City offices. The department is generally recognised to be the market leader in undertaking stock condition surveys on the housing sector and is currently advising housing authorities on issues where expenditure is in excess of £1bn. Landlord and Tenant The year was the most successful ever for the Landlord and Tenant department. The key factor in this success has been the concentration on the retail warehousing sector where a large proportion of rent reviews took place during the year and where we have acted for nine of the ten top owners. Market share in the office and industrial sectors has also been increasing where we anticipate dramatic increases in activity in the short-term as rising rental levels reduce the percentage of over renting in the market; market conditions for the rent review business are now the best that they have been for the last ten years. Planning and Development A unified national planning structure has been established to capitalise upon the acquisition of Shaw Cramond Limited last year and our existing spread of planning expertise. The London based planning team has received a number of significant new instructions and continues to extend its client base. The teams in Wimborne, Cambridge, Oxford and Bath have all enjoyed a successful year handling a wide range of projects including brownfield and residential expansion schemes throughout the UK. Our development departments have been involved in various regeneration schemes with organisations such as Peabody Trust (Canalside Development project in Kensington) and the Borough of Hackney (Trowbridge Estate). Property Management The property management businesses have shown steady growth. We are in the process of integrating our various regional teams into a single national business and intend to expand this business considerably over the next few years. Land and Farm Management The acquisition of the lowland consultancy and estate management business of Clegg Kennedy Drew in January endorsed our commitment to the rural property business and brought land under our management in the UK to 1.8m acres. In times of low agricultural return we will concentrate on bringing sound business principles to the management of rural portfolios and to the development of their ancillary businesses and assets. We remain committed to the further expansion of our interests in this sector and our subsidiary Aubourn Farming. Facilities Management Trigon has continued to consolidate its position as a leading independent provider of facilities management services to major corporates. New contracts secured during the year included a call centre for British Airways. With effect from 30 June 2000, this business forms part of the joint venture with Trammell Crow Company (see below). Corporate Services The Corporate Services team continues to build its business and the major development since the year-end (as with Facilities Management) is the transfer of this part of our business into the new joint venture with Trammell Crow Company (see below). Asia Pacific The acquisition of First Pacific Davies Limited (now called FPDSavills Asia Pacific Limited) completed on 7 April 2000 and provided a satisfactory contribution for the month. Prospects for the business are good as the Asian economies come out of a recent downturn and look to experience significant growth. As reported in the circular sent to the shareholders on 17 March 2000, the Directors believe that the expanded and diversified services and client base from the acquisition provides high quality and consistent earnings particularly from the high proportion of facility and property management business. The results of the business so far confirm our belief that there are good opportunities to expand the business further throughout Asia Pacific and Australia. International The acquisition of First Pacific Davies during the year represented a major development for our international business which has been further advanced since the year-end with the completion of the strategic alliance with Trammell Crow Company. In the space of three years, the Savills Group has moved from an almost exclusively UK based business to one of the leading international players with, in the future, close to half our property services turnover generated from international businesses. FINANCIAL SERVICES AND CO-INVESTMENT The Savills Finance Holdings group made a lower contribution to profits this year compared with last year, when there were particular large sales both in Grosvenor Hill Ventures and also of the shareholding in State Securities PLC. Savills Finance The Schroders Residential Property Unit Trust (ResPUT) has made its first portfolio acquisitions and we believe that, although it has taken longer than expected to establish, it will now rapidly move to a position where it is the leading residential unit trust in the market. With institutional investors increasingly looking at indirect means of investing in the property market there is considerable scope to expand the activities not only of the ResPUT, but also of other similar investment vehicles. Savills Private Finance In only its second full year of operation Savills Private Finance has grown significantly. Its primary focus has been the development of its mortgage broking business, now fully established as the UK's leading broker of larger loans. During the year the company arranged loans of over £500m. Both the commercial debt broking and financial planning arms have been strengthened and a personal insurance broking arm has been launched. The business now operates from five UK locations including a major new initiative in Manchester since the year-end. Further growth is planned for the coming period, with an emphasis on expanding the financial services operation. Of most significance is the launch of NetMortgage, which is already receiving industry plaudits as the best UK on-line mortgage aggregator. Grosvenor Hill Ventures Grosvenor Hill Ventures Limited, which co-invests as a principal, had another active year and completed a total of £14.5m of sales. Particularly notable transactions included the sale of its property in George Street, Edinburgh and Lord Street, Liverpool. The major acquisition during the year was of the Skopos Mills factory outlet shopping complex in Batley, Yorkshire, which is now under major refurbishment and is due to be relaunched in the Autumn as Yorkshire Mill Village. Venture Capital The 15% interest in Killik has provided excellent returns this year. JSSPinnacle Group Limited, having been reorganised, is now positioning itself as the leading provider of social housing management in the UK and a steady increase in profitability is expected. FINANCIAL REVIEW ACQUISITIONS During the year we completed a number of acquisitions of businesses or interests in ventures, both in the UK and overseas. On 1 May 1999 we exercised our option to acquire the remaining interest in the James Harris Partnership, an estate agency practice based in Hampshire. On 1 June 1999, the Group acquired the remaining 50% interest in Trigon Limited for £2.67m (including acquisition costs). Also on 1 June 1999 the Group increased its interest in the share capital of Adventis Group PLC from 63% to 71.9% on a pre-emptive basis. On 3 August 1999 the Group increased its shareholding in JSSPinnacle Group Limited from 23.9% to 24.14% on a pre- emptive basis. On 29 October 1999 the Group acquired the Oxford based corporate lettings and management business of Bradford & Bingley Estate Agencies Limited for £150,000 including acquisition costs. On 4 November 1999 the Group acquired part of Property Vision Limited's letting and management business for £277,000 including acquisition costs. On 1 January 2000 the Group acquired the consulting and estate management business of Clegg Kennedy Drew for £383,000 including acquisition costs. On 31 March 2000 the Group acquired 64% of D & T Property Consultants s.p.r.l., a Brussels based real estate agency and property adviser which had been a member of FPDSavills' international network since 1995, for a consideration of £149,000 including acquisition costs. Also on 31 March 2000, the Group increased its investment in FPDSavills Nederland B.V. from 20% to 25% on a pre-emptive basis for £40,000 including acquisition costs. On 6 April 2000 the Group acquired Foster Bowden Limited, a firm of general practice surveyors, for a consideration of £312,000 including acquisition costs. The acquisition of First Pacific Davies Limited (now re- named FPDSavills Asia Pacific Limited) from First Pacific Company was completed on 7 April 2000. The cash consideration comprised HK$225m (£18.1m) and the allotment to First Pacific Company's nominee of 7.8m shares in the Company (valued at £14.4m). TREASURY ACTIVITIES AND POLICIES The Group's treasury operations are co-ordinated and managed in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the Board. They are designed to reduce the financial risks faced by the Group, which primarily relate to funding and liquidity, interest rate exposure and currency rate exposures. The Group's financial instruments comprise borrowings, some cash and liquid resources and various other items such as trade debtors and trade creditors that arise directly from its operations. The Group does not engage in trades of a speculative nature. Further details of financial instruments are provided in Note 17 to the Accounts. The Board reviews and agrees policies for managing each of the above-mentioned risks. These have remained unchanged during the period under review and are summarised below. Interest Rate Risk The Group finances its operations through a mixture of retained profits and bank borrowings, at both fixed and floating interest rates. It then uses interest rate caps to manage its exposure to interest rate fluctuations. At the year-end, 48% of the Group's borrowings were at floating rates. The Group has no set policy with regard to the proportion of debt it maintains at fixed rates of interest. Liquidity Risk The Group prepares an annual funding plan approved by the Board which sets out the Group's expected financing requirements for the next 12 months. Short-term flexibility is achieved through overdraft facilities. At the year-end, 1% of the Group's borrowings were due to mature in more than five years' time. Foreign Currency Risk Approximately 4.4% of the Group's turnover was derived from Europe and 4.8% from Asia Pacific in the year. Our policy is for each business to borrow in local currencies where possible. The Group does not actively seek to hedge risks arising from foreign currency transactions due to their non- cash nature and the high costs associated with such hedging. BORROWING The Group retains substantial short-term money market facilities with its bankers which are currently not utilised. The purpose of these facilities is to provide working capital for the core Group businesses. In addition, loan facilities are used within Grosvenor Hill Ventures Limited to finance specific property projects. These loans are project specific and without recourse to the parent company. NET INTEREST RECEIVABLE Net interest receivable increased to £714,000 (1999 - £366,000). TAXATION The taxation charge was reduced to 30.6% of the profit before tax compared with 35.6% last year, largely due to the establishment of a Qualifying Employee Share Trust. EARNINGS AND DIVIDEND Earnings per share amounted to 27.8p, a 38% increase on last year's 20.1p. This calculation excludes the shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust and the Qualifying Employee Share Trust. The Board is recommending a final dividend of 4.5p (net), making 7.5p for the full year, a 30% increase on last year's 5.75p. The dividend will be paid on 11 September 2000 to shareholders on the register at 4 August 2000. SHARE CAPITAL During the year, 7.8m ordinary shares were issued to Selly Oak Holdings Limited in connection with the acquisition of First Pacific Davies Limited. In addition, 95,340 ordinary shares were issued to participants in the Savills plc United Kingdom Executive Share Option Scheme and 5,058 to participants in the Savills Sharesave Scheme. A further 853,187 shares were issued to the Qualifying Employee Share Trust, bringing the total number of ordinary shares in issue at 30 April 2000 to 62.5m (1999 - 53.8m). CASH FLOW AND LIQUIDITY Net cash inflow from operating activities totalled £20.1m which, after allowing for cash flows including taxation, dividends, investments and capital expenditure (see below), produced a net decrease in cash of £0.5m. At 30 April 2000, prior to the payment of year-end bonuses, the Group's cash at bank and in hand amounted to £29.1m. This was deposited with banks and financial institutions with top credit ratings for periods not exceeding six months, to match known outgoings. The Group continues to operate a centralised treasury function, which is not a separate profit centre but purely provides a service to the operating companies. INVESTMENTS AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURE Cash outflow from Group investments and capital expenditure amounted to £34m (before taking account of cash within acquired subsidiaries of £12.9m) made up as follows: £'000 £'000 Investments FPDSavills Asia Pacific 20,474 Limited Trigon Limited 2,670 Healthcare Development 1,154 Services Limited Foster Bowden Limited 187 Clegg Kennedy Drew (lowland 283 consulting) Adventis Group PLC 245 Property Vision Limited 277 Bradford & Bingley Estate 150 Agencies Limited FPDSavills Belgium s.a. 149 Managed Office Solutions 76 (GHV) Limited Grosvenor Hill (Southampton) 30 Limited FPDSavills Nederland B.V. 40 JSSPinnacle Group Limited 181 Other 15 25,931 Capital Expenditure Equipment & cars 3,118 Property 128 Assets in the course of 6,938 construction 10,184 Less: amounts payable at year (1,971) end 34,144 BALANCE SHEET VALUE No value is attributed in the Group balance sheet to internally generated intangibles such as brand name or intellectual property rights. CHANGE OF YEAR-END At the time of the announcement of the acquisition of First Pacific Davies Limited, the Group indicated that the financial year-end would be changed to 31 December. It is impractical to retain a 30 April year-end whilst Group businesses outside the UK operate to a 31 December year-end. We have therefore decided to adopt a Group-wide accounting year-end of 31 December. Accordingly, we will prepare accounts for the eight month period from 1 May 2000 to 31 December 2000. An Interim Report will be prepared for the six months from 1 May 2000 to 31 October 2000. SAVILLS plc PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS year ended 30 April 2000 Year to Year to 30.04.00 30.04.99 £'000 £'000 Turnover continuing operations Existing operations 133,926 93,059 Acquisitions 8,661 9,888 Less: Share of joint ventures (651) (587) Total Group turnover 141,936 102,360 Operating profit Group existing operations 18,792 13,840 acquisitions 76 154 Operating profit of parent & 18,868 13,994 subsidiary undertakings Share of operating profit of joint ventures 4 38 Share of operating profit of associated 568 170 undertakings Operating profit 19,440 14,202 including share of joint ventures & associates Loss on disposal of - (59) property Profit on disposal of interests 22 - in subsidiary undertakings Profit on disposal of interests in associated undertakings - 908 Profit before interest 19,462 15,051 Net interest Group 709 417 Joint ventures 6 1 Associates (1) (52) Total net interest 714 366 Profit on ordinary activities 20,176 15,417 before taxation Taxation on profit on ordinary (6,166) (5,494) activities Profit on ordinary activities 14,010 9,923 after taxation Minority interests (344) (155) Profit for the financial year 13,666 9,768 Dividends paid & proposed (4,008) (2,770) Profit for the year transferred 9,658 6,998 to reserves Earnings per share 27.8p 20.1p Diluted earnings per share 25.4p 18.9p Dividend per share 7.5p 5.75p SAVILLS plc SUMMARY GROUP BALANCE SHEET at 30 April 2000 30.04.00 30.04.99 £'000 £'000 Intangible 33,202 5,987 assets Tangible assets 21,352 8,881 Investments Investments in joint ventures Share of gross 2,420 1,022 assets Share of gross (846) (903) liabilities 1,574 119 Investments in 1,529 44 associates Other investments 4,021 3,855 Total 7,124 4,018 investments Fixed assets 61,671 18,886 Working capital 306 3,308 Cash 29,058 26,515 Net current assets 29,364 29,823 Long-term creditors & (20,996) (3,385) provisions Net assets 70,039 45,324 Called up equity share 3,127 2,689 capital Reserves - Share premium 40,845 25,060 account - Profit & loss account 25,636 17,501 Shareholders' funds 69,608 45,250 Minority interests 431 74 70,039 45,324 Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses 30.04.00 30.04.99 £'000 £'000 Profit for the financial year 13,666 6,663 Currency translation differences on foreign 203 - currency net investments Total gains and losses recognised since last 13,869 6,663 annual report SAVILLS plc CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT Year ended 30 April 2000 Year to Year to 30.04.00 30.04.99 £'000 £'000 Net cash inflow from operating activities 20,167 14,771 Dividends received from joint ventures & 445 310 associates Net cash inflow from returns on investments & servicing of finance 806 205 Tax paid (6,006) (3,516) Net cash outflow from capital expenditure & financial investment (10,878) (6,296) Net cash outflow from acquisitions & disposals (9,715) (1,716) Equity dividends paid (3,401) (2,546) Cash (outflow)/inflow before use of liquid resources & financing (8,582) 1,212 Net cash inflow/(outflow) from management of liquid resources 216 (4,399) Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing 7,894 (1,850) Decrease in cash for the year (472) (5,037) NOTES 1. The financial information above does not amount to full accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. 2. Segmental analysis Commercial Resedential Financial Year to Services 30.04.00 Turnover (Group & joint 55,537 68,698 3,849 ventures) Less share of (638) - - joint ventures 54,899 68,698 3,849 Operating 8,985 9,006 (286) profit/(loss) Share of joint 4 - - ventures Share of associated 8 - 560 undertaking operating profit Profit on disposal - - - interest in subsidiary undertaking Profit/(loss) 9,997 9,006 274 before interest & taxation Net interest 438 254 (56) Profit/(loss) 8,435 9,260 218 before taxation Net assets 23,044 12,389 1,441 Year to 30.04.99 7,329 5,188 920 Profit/(loss) before taxation Turnover (Group & joint 14,503 - 142,587 ventures) Less share of (13) - (651) joint ventures 14,490 - 141,936 Operating 2,744 (1,581) 18,868 profit/(loss) Share of joint - - 4 ventures Share of associated - - 568 undertaking Profit on disposal 22 - 22 interest in subsidiary undertaking Profit/(loss) 2,766 (1,581) 19,462 before interest & taxation Net interest (678) 756 714 Profit/(loss) 2,088 (825) 20,176 before taxation Net assets 10,988 22,177 70,039 Year to 30.04.99 2,127 (147) 15,417 Profit before taxation 3. In the above segmental analysis, the turnover for Commercial includes that for the European offices, Trigon Limited and the Asian operations. 4. An interim dividend of 3.0p (net) per share was paid. A final dividend of 4.5p (net) per share is recommended and, assuming approval at the Annual General Meeting, will be paid on 11 September 2000 to shareholders on the register as at 4 August 2000. 5. The earnings per share have been calculated using the weighted average number of shares in issue of 49,139,000 (1999 - 48,580,000) and excludes the shares held by The Savills plc 1992 Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) and the Qualifying Employee Share Trust (QUEST). The calculation of fully diluted earnings per share is based on a weighted average number of shares in issue of 53,731,000 (1999 - 51,777,000). 6. Information relating to the year to 30 April 1999 is an abridged version of the full Group accounts for that year which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and upon which the Auditors, KPMG Audit Plc, gave an unqualified opinion. 7. Copies of this statement are being sent to shareholders and are available from the registered office at: Savills plc, 20 Grosvenor Hill, Berkeley Square, London W1K 3HQ Telephone: 020 7409 9920 Fax: 020 7409 1800 Contact: Lizzie Jackson The information is also available on the Company's website on: www.fpdsavills.co.uk 8. The Annual General Meeting will be held at: 25 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 7EE on 7 September 2000 at 12 noon.

Companies

Savills (SVS)
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