Foxtons posts higher sales as it launches £3m share buyback

Estate agency Foxtons has revealed improved sales in recent months as it said it will hand cash back to shareholders.

The London-based firm has been one of a raft of estate agencies to be buoyed by surge in house sales since the first national lockdown ended in the summer.

Foxtons said it continued to see strong sales in the final quarter of the year, with group revenue rising 2% to £14.8 million in October and November.

Sales revenue jumped by 11% to £5.4 million during the period, it said, while lettings revenues slipped by 1% to £8 million.

It said it continued to see “strong volume increases” in the rental market but said these were offset by a decline in average rents.

Meanwhile, mortgage broking revenues fell by 14% to £1.3 million for the two-month period.

Foxtons said it now expects an operating profit in the year to end December of between £1 million and £1.5 million and to finish the period with cash of £30 million.

It told investors that it now believes it is appropriate to launch a share buyback due to its strong cash position.

The company said it will now buy up to £3 million worth of shares from its investors.

It comes eight months after Foxtons raised £22 million from its shareholders to boost its finances in the face of uncertainty due to the pandemic.

“The company’s trading performance since the £22m placing has been better than expected, enabling us to progress our strategy and deploy capital on attractive opportunities, specifically £4.6 million spent acquiring three lettings books this year,” it said.

“The results we have seen from these initial acquisitions are encouraging and have reinforced our belief that they present an attractive method of growing the business, improving profitability and delivering strong financial returns.”

Shares in the company were 1.5% higher at 44.68p after early trading.