It made pre-tax losses of £4.8m for 2008, compared with pre-tax profits of £22.3m in 2007.
The group spent £8.2m on restructuring itself to reduce operating costs by 22%. LSL said that its estate agency and financial services operations reflected market conditions with underlying operating losses in 2008 of £8.4m, compared with profits of £13m in 2007.
However, non-exchange business increased by 17%, up to £29.2m. This included repossessions work.
Lettings income also shot up, by 24% to £15.8m, and despite a 59% fall in exchange income, overall revenue for Your Move and Reeds Rains fell by 39%.
Roger Matthews, LSL’s chairman, said: “The board remains cautious on market conditions for 2009 and the timing of any recovery is uncertain.“In 2009 to date, buyer inquiries and activity levels within our estate agency businesses have been encouraging, but this is balanced by the lack of supply in the mortgage market.”
