Foxtons reports decline in revenue in third quarter due to reduced activity in the London property market
Reduced activity in the London property market hit Foxtons revenues during the third quarter of the year.
The estate agents said total group revenue for the three months to 30 September had fallen to £37.5m from £43.5m last year, while sales revenue was down to £12.2m from £18.5m – reflecting a continuation of reduced activity in the London property sales market.
Lettings revenue grew "modestly" from £22.6m to £22.8m, which Foxtons said was helped by marketing initiatives it launched to enhance the lettings business.
The firm said continued tight cost control during the third quarter had improved margins, and it expects to be broadly in line with full year market expectations.
Shares in the company were up 2.1 per cent in early trading.
Foxtons issued a profit warning in June, following the UK's Brexit vote, after enduring a difficult few months which saw it deal with a hike in stamp duty.
During the year, Foxtons opened seven new branches in Loughton, Sutton, New Malden, Fulham, Maida Vale, Vauxhall (in what used to be the Big Issue's offices) and Peckham, increasing the network size to 65 branches in total. There are plans to open two more branches in the first quarter of 2017 in outer London.
The company also recently launched a new online portal, MyFoxtons, for customers, and said the feedback so far has been good.
"The long term fundamentals of the London property market remain very attractive and represent a huge opportunity for growth with nearly £3bn in total sales and lettings commissions on 2015 volumes," said Foxtons chief exec Nic Budden.
"We have built Foxtons to withstand sales market cycles with our lettings revenue comprising over half the business. We are pleased with the response we have seen to the strategic initiatives which we have implemented to grow our lettings business, and also the successful launch of the new MyFoxtons portal."