Estate agents who are taking home £1m bonuses

Now it seems high-flying estate agents are also reaping rich rewards from the dramatic ongoing rise in house prices.

• £1m homeowners to see council tax double

Staff at upmarket estate agents Savills are enjoying City-style million-pound bonuses after the firm announced record profits.

A 'bonus pool' of £125million is being shared among 4,000 employees, with some set to receive more than £1million.

However, the lion's share is expected to go to those already earning high salaries.

The firm warned that as the allocation of bonuses - which are 20 per cent higher than last year - was 'discretionary', some could receive nothing.

If the pool was shared equally among all staff, each employee would receive £31,250.

Savills said the "better than expected" profits had been driven by a bumper round of City bonuses, which helped boost the average price of a house in central London by ten per cent to £1.45million.

A number of multi-million pound sales in the capital - including £20million fetched for a property in Eaton Square in Belgravia - helped the company deliver its 31 per cent increase in pre-tax profits, up from £57.2million in 2005.

It comes after a decade of huge property rises. In 1997, the average house price nationwide was £68,000, rising to £179,000 in 2005 and £188,000 in 2006.

And in February this year, the average house price was £192,000, according to Halifax. But Savills, which gives annual staff bonuses, predicts house prices will rise at a slower rate in 2007.

Group chief executive Aubrey Adams, 57, yesterday said he was among those to receive a bonus, but declined to say how much it was worth. "As a company we have had a very good year," he said.

The bonuses were announced after the group posted a profits rise of nearly a third to £75million last year.

Savills said the "better than expected" profits had been driven by a bumper round of City bonuses, which helped boost the average price of a house in central London by ten per cent to £1.45million.

A number of multi-million pound sales in the capital - including £20million fetched for a property in Eaton Square in Belgravia - helped the company deliver its 31 per cent increase in pre-tax profits, up from £57.2million in 2005.

Staff receiving the largest bonuses are expected to include head of commercial investments Simon Hope, 42, head of Asian business Robert McKellar, 47, and head of surveying Rupert Sebag-Montefiore, 52.

Head of German funds John Rigg, head of commercial property Jeremy Helsby, and head of residential agency Paul Jarman are also likely to benefit.

Sources at the firm said branch managers were 'highly unlikely' to receive a City-size bonus.

As it unveiled its full year results and details of the 2006 staff bonus, the firm announced that "people remain at the heart of success".

"The war for talent is more intense than ever before and the need to reward and retain key individuals is vital," said chairman Peter Smith.

"The commercial and residential markets remain strong and in the absence of a global economic downturn, we are confident that we will continue to make good progress in 2007."

Last month, the firm helped negotiate the £600million sale of iconic London building the Gherkin in what was thought to be the most ever paid for an office property in Britain.

The group has 140 offices and associate operations across the UK, continental Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa, with plans to expand further across Europe, US and Asia.

The series of interest rate rises over the past six months had failed to dent the residential property market, according to Savills, with price growth just shy of 10 per cent in 2006.