YORK estate agency group Hunters has announced it is expecting to post a 32 per cent rise in turnover to £12 million in its first annual results as a public company.

In a trade update issued to the market yesterday, the Heworth headquartered estate agency and franchise business described the year ending December 31, 2015 as one of "significant achievement" for Hunters, which included its flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in July.

The group said it saw subdued activity in the first half of the year in advance of the General Election, with a widely reported national shortage of properties for sale and to let afterwards.

Despite this, the group said it performed well across all divisions, with network income above £30 million for the first time, rising from £21.2 million in 2014. Independent businesses that converted to Hunters experienced an average increase in revenue of 29 per cent, leading the company to expect to post results for the full year ahead of the board's expectations and "significantly ahead of the prior year".

Hunters reported that during 2015, 32 new branches joined the network. In addition the company acquired a 23 branch franchise network bringing the group at year end to 170 offices, with 11 owned and 159 franchised.

The group said it enters 2016 with "strong levels of letting activity" and the pipeline of agreed sales in the hands of lawyers is at a record level for the time of year.

The board said it expects further significant expansion during 2016 by attracting franchisees and by acquisition.