Foxtons sales drop 14% but figures rescued by lettings
The London agency says its figures are in line with expectations given a difficult year in 2023.
Foxtons suffered a sales fall of 14% last year, but still recorded a profit of £14 million as its lettings division achieved £100 million in revenue for the first time.
Total revenue for the year was £147m, up 5%, and the profit figure was also “ahead of consensus market expectations”, of £11.8m, and flat against the previous year (£13.9m).
Lettings up 16%
Total revenue growth was driven by lettings, which grew 16% and passed the £100m revenue milestone, “more than offsetting expected reductions in sales and financial services revenue caused by a significantly weaker sales market”, the firm says.
“The challenging market conditions were primarily driven by higher interest rates and the weaker macroeconomic backdrop,” Foxtons says in a City trading update.
The group continued its acquisition strategy in 2023, adding over 2,800 tenancies to its lettings portfolio following the acquisitions of Atkinson McLeod and Ludlow Thompson.
2023 has been a transformational year for Foxtons.”
Guy Gittins, CEO, says: “2023 has been a transformational year for Foxtons, following the implementation of a refreshed strategy and operational turnaround plan.
“We have delivered a year of market share growth and have ended the year with revenue and adjusted operating profit ahead of market expectation.
Weaker market
“Our strategy to prioritise non-cyclical and recurring revenues has driven revenue and profit growth, despite a weaker sales market, and in contrast to prior year,” he says.
“This, combined with the operational progress and significant market share gains made to date, gives me confidence that our strategy is working, and we enter 2024 focused on delivering our strategic priorities and medium-term profit ambitions.”
Surge
Foxtons enjoyed a surge in its share price at the start of the year after a strong finish to 2023.
The Neg reported data from TwentyCi which revealed that Foxtons was the fastest growing UK agent in both lettings and sales.
The figures showed that the agency had seen a 36% increase in market share in the lettings sector in 2023, and 28% in sales.
This rate of growth outperformed the closest competitor, with Connells ranked second with a 9% increase.
