Member Article

Up to 60 redundancies at Foxtons as London property market stalls

Despite announcing a pre-tax profit increase of 8.2% to £42.1m, London estate agent Foxtons has made between 50-60 redundancies following a difficult end to 2014.

The firm saw a strong start to 2014, with transactions nearing their highest levels since 2008. As a result, group revenue rose 3.4% to £143.9m.

However, Foxtons reported a ‘market downturn’ in the second half of the year and, as a result, it has announced between 50-60 job cuts, representing up to 7% of the workforce.

The estate agent, which is known for its aggressive ‘sharp suited’ sales force, opened seven new branches in 2014 and has plans to open seven more this year.

Nic Budden, chief executive officer said: “2014 was a year of contrasting halves. The first half was characterised by a very strong property sales market with transactions reaching their highest levels since 2008.

“In the second half we saw a sharp downturn in property sales volumes, particularly in Central London.

“Despite these challenging conditions in property sales markets during the second half of 2014, our centralised business model, effective expansion strategy and strong position in lettings enabled us to grow revenues and maintain high EBITDA margins.

“Whilst we expect property sales activity to remain subdued at levels comparable to those seen in late 2012 and early 2013 until greater political and economic certainty returns, the long term fundamentals of the London market remain sound and attractive.

“We continue to be confident that our organic expansion strategy, together with our strong lettings business, will enable us to grow revenue and profit even in a flat property sales market. Our new branches are performing well and we are on track to open another seven this year.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .