Shares in estate agents suspended

STAFF at a Lewes estate agency face an uncertain future after shares in the business were suspended.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd May 2008, 18:31 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 22:40 BST

Humberts Estate Agents have been trading for more than 150 years but the longstanding branch in Lewes High Street is part of a chain of 80 offices facing 'restructuring'.

The company has been hit by an over-expansion of business and the worsening housing market.

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Greg Pickard, a director at Humberts, told the Express: 'The company has asked the stock exchange to suspend the shares.

'They will do a complete review of the business and obviously there will be some cost-cutting.'

Mr Pickard said the growth of the Humberts business in recent years was 'too much, too quickly' with a large number of different premises being acquired.

He said: 'The Lewes branch has been here for a long time and we are still doing some good business.

'But the market is tough, there's no question about it.

'Anybody will tell you as far as estate agency goes things are difficult.

'The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has announcecd turnover for estate agents could fall by 40 per cent.'