Foxtons yesterday issued an upbeat trading update – despite revenue from sales being down by a third.

In the three months to the end of September, sales revenue was £12.2m compared with £18.5m in the same quarter last year.

Total group revenue for the quarter was £37.5m, down from £43.5m last year.

Total revenue for the first nine months of this year was £106.3m, compared with £114.5m for the same period last year.

Lettings revenue in the third quarter of this year grew modestly to £22,8m, up from £22.6m.

The firm, which issued a profits warning in June, said however that “continued tight cost control” in the third quarter of this year had improved margins and it expects performance to be in line with full-year expectations.

The firm emphasised that Foxtons remains highly cash generative with no debt.

While it cited Brexit uncertainty in its profits warning, it did not mention the referendum in yesterday’s update to the City.

So far this year, Foxtons has opened seven new branches and is committed to opening two more in the first quarter of next year.

Nic Budden, CEO, said: “The long-term fundamentals of the London property market remain very attractive and represent a huge opportunity for growth with nearly £3bn in total sales and lettings commissions on 2015 volumes.

“We have built Foxtons to withstand sales market cycles with our lettings revenue comprising over half the business.

“We are pleased with the response we have seen to the strategic initiatives which we have implemented to grow our lettings business, and also the successful launch of the new MyFoxtons portal.”

Analysts predict Foxtons will post full-year profits of £27m, down from £41m last year.

Yesterday, Foxtons’ shares were firm after the trading update, finishing the day up 2.75p at 97.25p.

However, the shares are still some 42% below their level before the June 23 referendum.