Shareholder pressure mounts on big estate agency to find buyer
Several large shareholders including Converium Capital and Milkwood Capital have said they want Foxtons to be sold so they can cash in their holdings.
Foxtons is believed to have hired merger and acquisition bankers from Rothschild as pressure mounts on the agency to sell itself by the end of the year.
The Sunday Times reports that Rothschild will work alongside its brokers Deutsche Numis and Singer Capital Markets.
FIND A BUYER
It’s claimed that several large shareholders, such as Canadian investor Converium Capital, which owns about 5.3% of the estate agency, and UK-based Milkwood Capital, which owns 5%, have said they want Foxtons to find a buyer for the business.
Two years ago Rothschild advised on the sale of Leaders Romans Group to US-based private equity investor Platinum Equity.
A spokesman for Foxtons tells The Neg: “Foxtons Group has a retained financial adviser. Rothschilds is the group’s financial adviser alongside Deutsche Numis, which is also the group’s joint corporate broker together with Singer Capital Markets.”
AWARDED SHARES
The Neg reported earlier this month how Foxtons’ Chief Executive Guy Gittens and Chief Financial Officer Chris Hough have been awarded shares as part of three separate schemes by the company totalling just over £1 million between them.
Foxtons is both rewarding the duo for the company’s recent revival while part of the share allocation is to incentivise them to take the firm to greater heights.
Three stock allocations granted Gittins shares worth approximately £645,400 and Hough £374,500, based on its recent share prices of between 44p and 53p, depending on the timings of the schemes involved.
Foxtons latest results showed that the the estate agency, despite a downturn in profits due to the cost of recent acquisitions, saw revenues up by 5% to £147.1 million and adjusted operating profit up 2% to £14.3 million during it most recent financial year.
