Hard on the heels of record results for Humberts Group plc, its Southampton office has announced promotions and plans for continued expansion.

Director Stephen Butterfield is set to assume greater responsibilities within the group which will see Commercial Director Andrew Archibald assuming the mantle of overall responsibility for the Southampton team.

It follows Humberts' first full year as a plc - a twelve-month period in which it expanded its network to more than 60 offices nationwide, added new dedicated commercial offices in Bristol and Canterbury as well as increasing its turnover to £13.58 million.

At its recent AGM chairman Tim James also reported that confidence about the current year is such that the board has, for the first time, decided to pay an interim dividend.

The Southampton office contribution to the group's results has included a number of significant appointments including advising national charity Leonard Cheshire on its extensive property holdings, advising Dean & Dyball the preferred developer for the commercial element of the Woolston Riverside project and as valuation consultants to Raglan Housing Association.

As well as the key appointments other highlights have included the off-market relocation of teddy-bear giant Russ Berrie to new premises at Stoke Park in Eastleigh and the subsequent sale of its former 165,000 sq ft headquarters in Totton to the rapidly expanding satellite navigation group, Garmin (Europe) Ltd.

Andrew Archibald said: "This is an exciting time for the Humberts business, both within Southampton, where we are actively looking to recruit ambitious agency and valuation surveyors, and nationally.

"Our network continues to offer the strength and depth of a national presence with genuine local knowledge and understanding of our regional market places. The addition of dedicated commercial operations in Bristol and Canterbury will help further reinforce our commercial offering.

"Our aim is to build on this with the ongoing expansion of our Southampton commercial business."

Acquired by Farley plc in October 2005, the group has also changed its name last year to Humberts Group plc, in line with the strategy to leverage its 150 year heritage and further develop the company as a national brand and a focus on its key disciplines of commercial, rural and residential practice. One of the leading independent national firms of chartered surveyors it now has 62 office from Cornwall to York.