Foxtons revenue rebounds in 2021 after lockdown hit London sales and lettings last year
London estate agent Foxtons this morning said revenue had boomed at the beginning of this year as the market continued to be buoyed by pent-up demand and the stamp duty holiday.
Foxtons said revenue for the first two months of 2021 is “well ahead” of both last year and 2019, with the sales commission pipeline more than 30 per cent higher than the beginning of 2020.
Shares climbed 2.12 per cent following the optimistic update on Foxtons’ trading outlook for the year.
Group revenue fell 12 per cent to £93.5m last year as Foxton’s shift to online viewings and the surge in activity after lockdown was lifted was unable to offset the impact of months of market closure and falling rents.
Operating profit was £1.9m, up from a loss of £700,000 in 2019, and the firm posted a loss before tax of £1.4m, compared to £8.8m in the previous year.
Neil Shah, director of research at Edison Group, said Foxtons “looks to be back on its feet”.
“Understandably, Foxtons were initially bruised by the pandemic, a fact reflected in weakened income across the board…but the property market has shown resilience overall, and Foxtons looks to be back on its feet alongside it,” he said.
“Profitability returned in the second half of 2020 and the group report January and February 2021 trading to be up on 2020 and 2019, hinting Covid may not leave the scarring effect it will on other industries.”