Foxtons has revealed in its latest trading update that the rush to beat the April Stamp Duty deadline drove a huge rise in the firm’s sales revenue.

Compared to the same period in 2024, total revenue was up 24% to £44.1m for Q1 in 2025, but sales revenue was up by as much as 73% to £16.4m. Lettings revenue was up 5% to £25.5m and financial services revenue was up 7% to £2.5m.

The rise in sales revenues came from a £5.6m (+59%) uplift from existing operations, but an extra £1.3m came from acquisitions made from October 2024.

Completions brought forward

The estate agency group says that those rises have been driven by a large number of completions being brought forward to benefit from Stamp Duty relief, however, the number of sales entering the under-offer pipeline in Q2 has dropped to around 10% below last year.

Foxtons is, though, expecting the pipeline to rebuild over the coming months, although the speed and extent of future interest rate reductions will determine how quickly this will happen.

Lettings

In lettings, there has been a £1.2m revenue boost from the rapid integration of its new acquisitions, Haslams Estate Agents and Imagine Property Group and Foxtons plans to continue with its strategy of consolidating its market share in high-value commuter towns.

Commenting on Q1, Guy Gittins, Chief Executive Officer, said: “This has been a very strong start to the year, with Foxtons recording its highest quarterly Sales revenue in nearly 10 years.

“In Lettings, we produced another robust performance with revenues up 5%, including contributions from our new offices in the Watford and Reading areas. Lettings remains a key area of focus for Foxtons, with high-quality non-cyclical and recurring revenues underpinning the Group’s financial profile and driving resilient earnings.

The level of revenue growth demonstrates the scale of the turnaround within Sales.”

“In Sales, operational improvements implemented since 2022, combined with strong market share growth and increased market volumes, drove a 73% increase in revenue. The level of revenue growth demonstrates the scale of the turnaround within Sales, as the business capitalised on Stamp Duty-driven increased market activity far more effectively than in previous years, such as during the stamp duty relief deadline in 2021.

“Despite ongoing macro volatility, with our market leadership position and resilient business model, I am confident we can drive further growth this year and deliver long-term value for shareholders, employees, and customers.”

Reaction

Julie Palmer, Partner at Begbies Traynor

“There’s no question that Foxtons have had a bumper beginning to 2025. Benefitting from the rush from buyers focused on beating the stamp duty deadline, the estate agent today announced their highest quarterly sales in nearly a decade.

“The main question for London’s leading operator is whether this level of performance is sustainable. Indeed, in this environment, it will have to work hard to ensure its reduced pipeline is not the start of a tailing-off, but encouragingly the lettings side of the business, that is less susceptible to swings in sentiment, looks to be doing well.

“As ever, the spectre of interest rates looms large and a further cut will be decisive in determining market confidence. Foxtons should be reassured by recent remarks from the Bank of England that a cut is on the way. While it’s anything but certain, a cut next month could help mitigate the effect of the recent millionaire exodus from London which many fear has been suppressing property prices.”