Foxtons has announced a further fall in revenue but has curbed the extent of its losses by almost 50%.

The company announced this morning group revenue of £106.9m for last year, down from £111.5m. It made a pre-tax loss of £8.8m, but this was down from £17.2m and the firm said it had made cost savings of £4m in response to market conditions.

The business also reported ending last year with cash of £15.5m, down from £17.9m in December 2018.

Sales revenue fell 10%, to £32.6m, while lettings revenue was down 2% to £65.7m, including a £2.7m impact from the tenancy fees ban.

In December it closed four branches, described as loss making.

CEO Nic Budden said: “In 2019 sales transactions continued to fall from the historic lows we saw the previous year. In addition, we saw fewer high value sales at the top end of the market, which impacted sales revenue.

 “In lettings, where our focus remains, we delivered another solid performance, despite the impact of the tenant fee ban which came into place in June 2019.

“The decision not to offset this through increased landlord fees, like some of our competitors, has further improved the attractiveness of our excellent offer and our market share. We continue to build our proposition for the growing institutional PRS segment.

 “Selling or finding a property is more challenging than ever before, whilst landlords are facing increasing legal risks through tighter regulation. These factors create even more relevance and demand for our high service models across both sales and lettings, which are built on the expertise and commitment of our people.

 “Overall, we are pleased with our resilience in this prolonged downturn.

“The business and our people have proved adaptable and resilient, delivering stable results. We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet with no external borrowings.”

He added that early signs are that the market may improve this year, with Foxtons’ sales pipeline ahead of where it was 12 months ago.

He added: “However we are well prepared for further  challenging conditions in the sales market in the run up to Brexit and will continue to build our lettings business and manage our cost base in line with trading conditions.

“In the medium term, we maintain confidence in the inherent attractiveness of the London market and our ability as London’s most recognised estate agent to capitalise on future growth opportunities.”

There is no dividend for shareholders.