Fletcher King is a small London-listed property adviser. It advises on property sales and purchases, manages buildings, values property for banks and handles business-rates appeals. After a profitable 2024 its fees dried up: profit for the year to April 2026 was £2,000. It has paid a 20p special dividend, is selling its operating business to its own managers, and will be run by a new board that wants to buy technology-led property services.
Fees from advising on, managing and valuing property
Fletcher King sells property services, mostly to property owners and investors. Its investment team advises on deals and is paid when they complete. Its property and asset management team looks after buildings for clients on contracts. The valuation team values property for major high street banks. Other teams handle business-rates appeals against the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the tax body that sets rateable values, and, since November 2023, planning advice. In August 2025 it also brought facilities management in house.
The business is small, with revenue of about £3.5m a year, and has no debt. Fees come in two kinds. Contingent fees on deals and rating appeals pay only on completion, and their timing is hard to predict. Non-transactional fees come from contracts and are steadier. Management has said for several years that it wants more of the second kind. The company has also co-invested in property syndicates it advised on. 16 Aug 2024 15 Aug 2025 7 Oct 2026
A deal-driven rebound in 2024
The year to April 2024 was a strong one in a weak market. Revenue rose from £3.1m to £3.8m and pre-tax profit from £192,000 to £452,000. The company said the gain came mainly from fees on transactions completed just before the year end. The number of deals was low, but their average size was high.
A May 2024 trading update flagged the jump, and the shares moved from 35p in April to 45p in May and 50p by August. The final dividend rose to 2.25p from 0.75p. One deal was the sale of the property behind the SHIPS 16 syndicate, in which the company had co-invested. It sold close to its written-down value, and the company called the loss on its stake disappointing. 16 Aug 2024 15 May 2024 3 May 2024
“Markets are likely to remain cautious for a while longer, and it will be a challenge to maintain the same financial performance.” 16 Aug 2024
A flat year and a slow slide in 2025
Revenue held at £3.8m in the year to April 2025, but profit fell. Adjusted profit before tax dropped from £504,000 to £373,000, with higher staff costs. The dividend stayed at 2.25p. The chairman said the property market was probably near the bottom and expected non-transactional income to keep improving.
In January 2025 directors and senior managers surrendered 920,000 share options granted in 2021, for no payment. In March 2024 new options had been granted at 34.07p. They cannot be exercised before March 2029, and only if the shares hold at least 40.88p for 30 trading days. The shares fell to 28.5p in April 2025, then recovered to about 36p. 15 Aug 2025 31 Jan 2025 19 Mar 2024
Breakeven in 2026 and a change of direction
The year to April 2026 brought little profit. Revenue fell to £3.5m and pre-tax profit to £2,000. The company said property investment sales were subdued and rating appeals brought no meaningful fees. It also spent about £100,000 on recruitment and induction, for facilities management and the valuation team. The facilities management move is expected to add about £270,000 a year in revenue, partly offset by higher staff costs. No final dividend is proposed.
In June 2026 the company announced that chairman David Fletcher and non-executive directors Richard Goode and David Stewart would retire. A 20p special dividend, £2.05m in total, was paid on 17 July. In October it set out a Proposed Transaction: the sale of 50% of the operating subsidiary, Fletcher King Services Limited, to its management team. The remaining 50% can be sold over two years under put and call options (rights to sell or to buy). The headline price is £1.2m for the whole business, £550,000 for the first half and £650,000 for the second, plus a £100,000 Balance Payment. Shareholders must approve it. 7 Oct 2026 19 Dec 2025 19 Jun 2026
“The results for the year demonstrate that it remains challenging to produce profitable performance in current property market conditions.” 7 Oct 2026
Deal fees swing the result; contracts did not cover the gap
The three years show how much of the profit depended on a few completed deals and appeals. A handful of large sales lifted 2024. When sales and rating fees stalled, the contract income was not enough to cover the costs. Management pushed non-transactional income in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and the 2026 result was close to zero.
Adding staff before the revenue arrived cost about £100,000 in the latest year. The company has not said how much of the expected £270,000 of facilities management revenue is already in the accounts. 16 Aug 2024 15 Aug 2025 7 Oct 2026 19 Dec 2025
An outgoing board and a new one
David Fletcher has been chairman and gave the results commentary in each of these years. He retires with two fellow non-executive directors. The incoming board is proposed as Martin Samworth as chairman, with James Cameron and Elizabeth Shaw as non-executive directors. The company has not named the people who will lead Fletcher King Services after the sale beyond calling them its management team.
The record is mixed. The company flagged the 2024 jump in advance and said it would be hard to repeat. It then did not reach its stated aim of improving non-transactional income enough to protect profit in 2026. It returned cash to shareholders with the special dividend, and the circular puts the sale of the business to shareholders for approval. Anthony Ferguson joined in November 2023 to launch the planning service, which the company said was performing well in 2025. 7 Oct 2026 19 Jun 2026 15 Aug 2025 21 Dec 2023
Cash, a pending sale and a new shareholder stake
After the special dividend the company says it has satisfactory cash and no debt. Cash stood at £3.7m at April 2026, before the £2.05m payment. In May 2026 CM Strategic 613 Limited raised its holding from 24.92% to 29.99%, and Arrowsmith Partners LLP disclosed a 5.07% stake. T N Williams held 4.39% by August 2026.
The month-end share price reached 69p in June 2026, fell to 37.5p in July and was 31p in October. 7 Oct 2026 19 Jun 2026 29 May 2026 29 May 2026 10 Aug 2026
Selling the services business and looking for acquisitions
If shareholders approve, the operating business moves to its management in two steps. The listed company would then hold its cash and the sale proceeds. The new board says it will explore investments and acquisitions in complementary property-related services, including businesses using technology, data and artificial intelligence. The company has named no target.
Any deal would need due diligence, financing and documents, and possibly a further shareholder vote. A circular with full details is going to shareholders. The company has not given a financial target or a timetable for the strategy. 7 Oct 2026
Written by AI from Fletcher King's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources