Countrywide shares slide on weaker full-year outlook

(Reuters) - Countrywide Plc's (CWD.L) shares tumbled on Thursday after the property services group forecast full-year results at the lower end of market expectations due to a slowdown in the UK housing market.

The shares were trading over 5 percent lower at 0848 GMT after falling as much as 8.3 percent early in the session.

"The market for housing transactions remains challenging and is likely to be down overall compared with 2016," Chief Executive Alison Platt said in a statement.

The company - Britain's largest estate agency by revenue - had earlier expected full-year results to meet market expectations.

Countrywide said revenue fell 7 percent fall to 175.1 million pounds for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

"The UK existing homes market has had a challenging year and we do not see much in the way of good news on the horizon. Against this backdrop, Countrywide's depth and breadth is allowing it to head toward a safe harbour for the year-end," Jefferies analysts wrote in a note.

The brokerage cut its estimate for Countrywide's 2017 EBITDA by 4.3 percent to 72.5 million pounds.

(Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)