Small firms lose out

Countrywide Property Lawyers, which claims to be the biggest residential conveyancer in England and Wales, has reported a 41% increase in the number of completions it handled, mainly at the expense of high street solicitors.CPL - a network of solicitors and licensed conveyancers which formerly operated under the Hambro name -- said that in the six months to June it managed 15,948 completions, compared to 11,322 in the same period last year.The company, part of estate agency group Countrywide Assured, said its increased market share came 'largely at the expense of small firms of solicitors'.CPL improved its fee income by 2.4 million to 6.7 million and moved into profit for the first time in its four-year history, with a pre-tax figure of 439,000 for the half-year.Managing director Stephen Ambler said: 'Our strong performance reflects the increasing demand for efficient, professional, value-for-money conveyancing and the fact that people like our fixed fees, our no-move-no-fee deals and direct access via the phone or the Web.'CPL offers conveyancing from regional centres in Brentwood, Cardiff, Manchester, Northampton and Woking, as well as a fully interactive service via the Web.

It is seeking to recruit staff in all five centres.

CPL has a stated aim of gaining a 10% market share; it now has 1.5%.Neil Rose