ULS TECHNOLOGY has developed B2B products that help smooth the process of moving homes, working with conveyancers, lenders, builders and the many intermediaries that exist. IPOed in 2014 having been founded in 2003 and ULS has around 3% of the UK conveyancing market using the eConveyancer product. A new open platform has been developed, successfully soft tested in early 2019 ( 6 firms, then 11) that will take the technology outside the existing 100 panel firms that use eConveyancer, resulting in a hoped for meaningful future increase in case load. The new product, DigitalMove is to be given to solicitors for free with ULS gaining revenues from property searches (£100 a package) and other moving related requirements such as utility contract changes. A cut of the solicitors fees is not the business model. The existing system allows for automation of the property transaction process with transparency and control for related parties to monitor, give solicitor information/ quotes, estate agent service / performances and meets all lending panels requirements. The successful roll out of DigitalMove is key to the near term profit future and has the potential to significantly change the way the market works with property documentation being streamlined and communicated digitally. In the trials, the conveyance period took 20% less time, being around 20 days fewer to complete.
Yesterday’s 1H results were in line with the one broker who follows them, Numis. The PLC has a current £29m market cap and is listed on AIM. The developed Digitalmove platform was the main topic in the call and currently not directly a revenue generator as the product is in soft trials with 46 lawyer firms all of whom are existing panel members. By 2H 2020 shareholders should see the rewards of the DigitalMove investment as the platform is sold to non ULS panel users and case matter volumes pick up. There are around 700 sizable conveyancing firms and a number of ‘quite large firms’ are being talked to . The CEO sees first mover advantage with DigitalMove and estimates profits are to double for £4m in 2021 to £8m in 2024 (10 p eps) as conveyancing case load increases. Broker forecasts stop at 2021 with £29m of revenues. 1H revenues were down 8% in the 1H to £14.5m (FY20 est £28.5m) with gross margins up to 44% as the mix altered with a flat underlying property market. The market…
