Foxtons put in a solid performance last year, with revenues up 4% to £150m. It also appeared to reject going down the online route, with more branch openings promised.
Sales volumes last year also increased by 4%, despite an 11% drop in London transactions.
In a trading update, Foxtons said its own performance was due to market share gains, gains within its new homes business, and expansion of its branch network.
The lettings side of the business generated 20,000 transactions last year.
Performance in the second part of last year was particularly encouraging, said Foxtons, with EBITDA (profits before costs) for the full year likely to be in line with that of 2014, at £46.2m, and margins at over 30%.
Foxtons said that it had gone into 2016 with an encouraging sales pipeline, a strong lettings book and a “proven strategy for further growth through organic branch expansion”.
It said it would be paying an increased dividend to shareholders.
Yesterday’s trading update was very much in line with its statement last October when it warned that property transactions in central London were at historically low levels.
Foxtons said then it did not expect the sales market to recover quickly, but the company remained on track to meet expectations, thanks to gains in market share and new branches.
Foxtons shares were unchanged yesterday.
Ebitda – “profits before costs” ?! actually its profits excluding Interest, tax, depreciation & amortisation – Good result all things considered.
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This can’t be sustainable. In this day and age of cost (not value) focussed consumers who, when not queuing up outside Lidl, are completing online surveys for the Telegraph, there is clearly no hope for a “bricks and mortar” agent who charge 2.5% Sole Agency in a market where a 1 bed flat costs £500k.
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