Conveyancing giant slashes a quarter of workforce as transactions fall

Simplify Moving has cut its workforce by more than a quarter owing in part to a fall in property transactions, it has emerged.

The annual report for private equity-owned conveyancing company, covering the year to 30 March, shows that the number of operations and administration staff fell by 27% to 1,413, cutting salary costs by more than £12m. Restructuring costs came to around £1.6m as the company’s workload was scaled back.

Simplify, which comprises eight conveyancing firms and two law firms (Premier Property Lawyers and Advantage Property Lawyers), is considered the largest specialist conveyancing business in the country.

In their strategic report, the directors say the group has faced ‘challenging’ and ‘difficult’ trading conditions. Shareholders have provided liquidity loans totalling more than £6m since last December, cash which also helped pay for AI and technology investments.

Trading pressures cited included the cost of living crisis, market uncertainty arising from global political unrest and rising mortgage interest rates putting downward pressure on the volume of people moving house.

Simplify Moving ended the financial year with net liabilities of £173m, with some £291m owed to creditors in short- and long-term debt.