UK's largest estate agent Countrywide issues profit warning

Shares down by almost a fifth as number of UK property sales fall and surveyors report fewer inquires

Shares in the UK's largest estate agent, Countrywide, have tumbled by nearly a fifth after the group issued its second profit warning in three months amid a stalled property market.

Countrywide, whose high street brands include Hamptons, Bairstow Eves, Taylors and Gascoigne-Pees, said it had had a disappointing last three months, especially in London and the south-east, with full-year revenues down 65m on a year earlier. It warned that 2017 profits would fall short of forecasts and be 22% below those for 2016. Its shares closed on Thursday down 18.6% at 110p.

Related: Countrywide profit warning; stamp duty cut fails to help first-time buyers - business live