Foxtons posts fall in FY revenue; says market may improve in 2020
Estate agent Foxtons reported a drop in full-year revenue on Thursday in "difficult" market conditions but highlighted early signs of an improvement in the sales market this year.
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In an update on trading for the year to the end of December 2019, the company said group revenue declined 4% to about £107m. Foxtons said this was a "robust" performance given the backdrop and attributed it to improved sales market share and growth in revenues from landlords.
Including the £2.7m impact of the tenant fee ban, revenue from the lettings division fell 2% to £66m as the company chose not to increase fees in response to the ban. Foxtons said revenue from landlords continued to benefit from the "wide-ranging improvements" it had made to its lettings offer.
Sales revenue declined 10% in the year to around £33m as ongoing political uncertainty dented transaction volumes, particularly at the higher end of the market.
Mortgage revenue rose 3%, meanwhile, with "strong" growth in re-mortgages outweighing lower new mortgage volumes.
Chief executive officer Nic Budden said: "Our team should feel pleased to have delivered a solid performance in difficult market conditions as political uncertainty played a significant role in suppressing an already weak sales market.
"Looking forward, with the uncertainty of the general election removed, early signs are that the sales market may improve during 2020 and our sales pipeline is ahead of last year. It is, however, too early to predict how the market will behave during the year with structural issues like affordability and stamp duty continuing to act as a brake on sales volumes. Competition in the lettings market remains fierce. Overall though Foxtons has successfully navigated a very difficult period and is well placed to benefit from any lasting improvement in market conditions."
At 1040 GMT, the shares were up 3.3% at 84.30p.