Harrison & Hetherington weather the economic storm

Auctioneer and land agency business H&H Group experienced a slight fall in pre-tax profits, from £1.5m to £1.4m in the year ending 30 June 2023, after what it described as the “unprecedented’’ dual challenges of inflation and higher interest rates.

This was despite a higher turnover of £18.97m for the year, up from £17.22m in the year to June 2022.

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Given the jolt to operating costs, chief executive Richard Rankin said the latest set of accounts reflected a “fantastic performance” that had proved the resilience of the Group and the strength of a diversified business model.

The H&H Group is made up of several businesses, including Harrison & Hetherington (livestock auctioneers), H&H Land and Estates (chartered surveyors and land agents), H&H Insurance Brokers and H&H Reeds (graphic designers and digital marketing).

Mixed fortunes

Some of those businesses did take a knock in 2023, for example H&H Land & Estates, largely resulting from issues in the housing market.

“The housing market did nothing to help our estate agency business but, with the exception of one location, we managed to hold our own against the competition,” said Mr Rankin.

“This was not enough to avoid making losses, but we have made significant structural changes and key leadership appointments, which has reduced our cost base to make us more robust during these difficult times,” he added.

And, despite an uplift in turnover at H&H Reeds, there had been “savage” increases in materials and energy costs.

“The core printing business illustrated the difficulties of turning higher turnover into profit when paper price increases proved impossible to pass on to customers also struggling with cost inflation.” 

The annual report and accounts show that the highest paid director received £186,000, down by £3,000 on the previous year. Shareholders are to be paid a total dividend of 20p/share for the year.