Property consultant King Sturge said on Tuesday that group turnover for the year ending April 2007 climbed to almost £198 mln (EUR 281 mln), up 22.5% on 2006. UK earnings accounted for £160.4 mln and overseas earnings came to £37.2 mln in what the company described as its second record year since converting to a Limited Liability Partnership.

Property consultant King Sturge said on Tuesday that group turnover for the year ending April 2007 climbed to almost £198 mln (EUR 281 mln), up 22.5% on 2006. UK earnings accounted for £160.4 mln and overseas earnings came to £37.2 mln in what the company described as its second record year since converting to a Limited Liability Partnership.

At the end of April 2007, King Sturge was led by 286 partners, including 66 equity partners and employed 1,904 people across Europe. Staff numbers grew by over 11% overall and new offices were opened in London (Greenwich, Blackheath and Brockley) with the acquisition of James Johnston residential estate agents and further offices in Rome, Bucharest, Bratislava and Split. Average distributable earnings per equity partner from the firm’s UK partnership business reached £615,000; individually the range was from £270,000 to £2.5 million, while the highest-paid salaried member of staff earned over £425,000.

King Sturge said that since the year-end, further European offices have been opened in Berlin, Istanbul and Zaragoza, as well as through the acquisition of Bettisons, a residential estate agent, in Plymouth, UK, taking total staff levels to 2,100 people based in 52 offices across Europe. Joint senior partner Richard Batten said: 'our strategy has been to grow a broad range of services. Alongside exceptional investment performance our plant and machinery group grew turnover by 39% whilst the professional income was up 42%. In addition, our residential group grew income by 68% and achieved the £17 mln contribution to turnover that we had targeted.'