Foxtons losses widen as London property market hit by Covid
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 28 Jul 2020
(Sharecast News) - Estate agent Foxtons reported a widening of its interim losses on Tuesday, with revenues down as the London property market was dented by the Covid-19 lockdown.
In the half year to the end of June, statutory pre-tax losses widened to £4.3m from £2.5m in the same period a year ago, with revenue falling 22% to £40.4m.
Lettings revenue was 21% lower at £25.7m, while sales revenue declined 28% to £11.1m. Revenue from the mortgage broking division was down 9% to £3.6m.
Chief executive officer Nic Budden said: "Before lockdown we were seeing first signs of a recovery from the prolonged downturn in London, however the market has been profoundly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is still unclear what the long-term impact of the virus will be."
In the eight weeks since the reopening of its branches, Foxtons said it has seen a steady improvement in activity across the key areas of the business. It highlighted a "good" recovery in lettings applicant numbers, listings and commissions, with lettings commissions over the four weeks of June down 12% and over the four weeks of July down 3% compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, sales commissions over the four weeks of June were down 44% and 32% lower over the four weeks of July, against the prior year.
The company said the sales commission pipeline has strengthened since re-opening and is now broadly in line with last year.
At 0925 BST, the shares were up 1.9% at 38p.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN