Winkworth is to return £1.146m of surplus funds to its shareholders.

It will do so by way of a capital payment. For every fully paid share of 0.5p, a shareholder will receive 9p in cash.

Winkworth CEO Dominic Agace said: “Winkworth’s franchising model is not capital intensive and, since its admission to AIM in 2009, the company has created regular free cash flow.

“We believe that it is currently in shareholders’ best interest for excess capital to be returned.

“We remain alert to acquisition opportunities and, should the need arise, we will approach shareholders to help fund any sizeable acquisitions.

“In the meantime, we continue to successfully grow our franchise network organically, with a further eight offices scheduled to be added in 2018.”

Shareholders, who will first vote on the proposal, are likely to receive their cheques on or around August 8.

Shares shot up over 3% on the news, finishing on Friday at around 130p – a 12-month high.