Share slide costs Countrywide £20m

ESTATE agent and financial services group Countrywide Assured has blamed the stock market for draining £20m from its old endowment and life assurance business.

Dealing with complaints and paying off people who had been wrongly sold endowment mortgages cost £5m while falling market returns depressed profits by £15m. However, the buoyant housing market meant group pre-tax profits jumped 18% to £65m in the year to 31 December.

Profits at the 738-strong chain of estate agents were up nearly 300% at £19m as commission fees on 86,000 house exchanges rolled in. The average cost of a house sold rose 11% from £99,000 to £110,000. Countrywide charges sellers 1.8% of the sale price.

Chairman Christopher Sporborg said the upward trend in volumes and prices had been spread throughout the country with the September blip apparent only in London. Trading in January and February was even stronger than in 2001. Earnings per share increased 39% to 16.7p and the full dividend is 17% higher at 3 1/2p a share.