BREAKING: D&G sale boosts Foxtons’ turnover by £16.8 million
Switch to acquisition rather than growth is paying off for the formerly embattled London estate agency giant.
The purchase of Douglas & Gordon (D&G) and other smaller lettings agencies by Foxtons recently has helped the ‘green giant’ turn the corner financially after years of lacklustre performances as London’s property market has been battered by Brexit, Covid and the financial crisis.
Foxtons says in its latest trading update for the whole of 2021 that revenues will be £133 million when it reports in full on 2 March – a 42% increase on 2020, and generate profits of £7 million.
This, it says, is the top end of market expectations, but a better comparison would be its 2019 performance before Covid, when group revenue was circa £107m, down 4% on 2018 (£111.5m) or 25% lower than today’s results.
Foxtons, which is busy rolling out its hybrid/non-branch offering beyond London, has also confirmed that D&G, which was bought only a few months ago, has already added £16.8 million to its turnover.
D&G sale
As revealed earlier this month, Foxtons is to sell off the loss-making sales arm of D&G to its CEO James Evans for a ‘nominal sum’, de-brand the lettings operation and bring the firm’s portfolio and staff into the Foxtons family.
Evans is to keep the branches and is prevented from poaching staff or entering the lettings sector for several years.
The Foxtons update adds: “Looking at the year ahead, the Group expects a further improvement in adjusted operating profit, supported by the profit contribution from the D&G lettings business, increasing rental levels in the London residential market and the implementation of improved digital marketing capabilities.”
