Foxtons is reported to have brought in external consultants to help deal with shocking workplace culture issues.

A report in Investors Chronicle describes the London agency’s move to employ a consultancy to “clean up the company’s culture”.

The publication says it has seen an email from Foxtons CEO Guy Gittins to staff, which says an external company has been asked to “further explore our strengths and weaknesses”.

Allegations

The firm was rocked recently by allegations that female staff were victims of unwanted sexual advances by colleagues, and other employees drove cars while drunk.

There was a long list of claims reported by Bloomberg and repeated by The Times, and the agency responded with a strongly-worded statement.

Former employees claim they complained to Foxtons’ human resources department and even directly to CEO Guy Gittins, but were not taken seriously.

‘Wolf of Wall Street’

Later, the Daily Mail reported some former employees describing a ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ culture, with one gay employee being targeted in posters.

A Foxtons spokesperson said: “We have thoroughly investigated and taken robust action where incidents of inappropriate conduct have been reported.

“We take these allegations very seriously and urge anyone affected by them, or similar incidents, to use our whistleblowing processes so further action can be taken.

“We have made progress improving our culture in recent years, introducing mandatory annual respect, inclusion and driving safety training, strengthened EDI [Equality, Diversity and Inclusion] policies, and enhanced whistleblowing and speak up processes, but there is more to do and further initiatives are underway.”

Less than a week after the initial reports surfaced, Foxtons reported impressive end-of-year results with profit before tax up 121% to £17.5 million, and group revenue up 11% to £163.9 million.

Image: Foxtons