The number of active conveyancing firms handling property transactions in England and Wales has fallen to the lowest figure since HM Land Registry began publishing its data, the Q3 2018 edition of the Conveyancing Market Tracker from Search Acumen has found.
The tracker which monitors business performance and competitive pressures in the conveyancing market, shows a consolidation of activity at the top of the market as bigger conveyancers take a higher market share.
Andrew Lloyd, managing director of Search Acumen, said: “Over much of this decade, we have witnessed a clear consolidation of conveyancing business at the top end of the market.
Technology has been a big driver in allowing smarter firms to steal a march on their rivals, which in turn means that the smaller, local conveyancers have struggled as market consolidation bites. They have seen their margins squeezed, local business networks shrink and opportunities to find new business diminished.
“In contrast, larger firms have been able to take advantage of market consolidation as more cases come their way. They have geared up their businesses and continued to grow over the last five years even as the market’s growth has slowed from the heady days of 2014-2016.
“Others have seized the opportunity to enter the fray for the first time with new propositions or aligned themselves with former rivals through mergers to stem the tide.
Article published by Mortgage Introducer - 13 December 2018