The area manager of an established estate agents in Gloucestershire says she has experienced little change in the behaviour of landlords, despite recent UK figures showing sales had increased.

Debbie Vowles, pictured, of Andrews Letting & Management, said "some" investors had pushed to sell their rental properties recently, but there was relatively little change with those that had bought property on a long-term basis.

Her comments come as research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) reveals the number of landlords that sold a property in the last 12 months rose from six to eight per cent in the last quarter of last year.

Debbie, who is also the South West representative for ARLA, said: "We have seen some people looking to sell their rental properties over the past few months, but this has tended to be what we would describe as reluctant landlords. By that, I mean those that chose to become landlords several years ago due to the sales market at the time, as well as developers. Generally, it is those that looked at letting a property as a short-term measure.

"We certainly haven't experienced much change in terms of the long-term investor landlords that we regularly deal with."

She added the South West benefited from there being constant demand to live in the area and strong employment opportunities.

Ian Potter, ARLA operations manager, said: "We would urge anyone planning to let out additional properties, or a property for the first time, to do plenty of research and consult with experts. It is vital to ensure your investment is properly protected."

Andrews has 4,260 homes for sale or rent across the South West and South East.