Foxtons said this morning that residential property sales in London generally fell by 23% in the third quarter of the year, though its own performance was marginally better.

The estate agency’s Q3 trading update shows that for the nine months ended 30 September 2023, revenue at Foxtons was up 5% to £114.8m (Q3 YTD 2022: £108.9m) despite the fall in sales market volumes.

For the three months ended 30 September 2023, revenue was broadly flat at £43.9m against a robust prior year comparative (Q3 2022: £43.8m).

Rental rates in the capital have been soaring to record levels and Foxtons saw booking and management fees rise 8% to £31.6m.

Guy Gittins, chief executive, said that the rise also reflected market share gains and operational upgrades, including investment in training, data and its brand.

Sales revenues fell to £9.9m from £11.9m during the quarter with financial services also lower at £2.4m from £2.8m.

Group revenue: 30 September (Q3 and 9 months YTD)

Foxtons highlighted that its sales performance was better than the market but added it expects fourth quarter, revenue still to be lower than the prior year comparative.

Lettings income is forecast be strong and overall earnings be in line with market forecast, said the statement.

Guy Gittins, CEO at Foxtons, said: “We have delivered a third consecutive quarter of market outperformance as operational upgrades take effect. Our investment in fee earners, training, data and brand is yielding results sooner than I expected, and is now delivering material benefits to our competitiveness and market positioning.

“Market share gains across lettings, sales and financial services have enabled us to grow revenue year-to-date despite reduced sales market transaction volumes, a result of the higher interest rate environment. Earlier this month we launched our new “Foxtons – London’s No. 1” marketing campaign, having regained the title as London’s largest estate agency brand off the back of significant market share gains in the first half of the year.

“The operational progress made to date, and our continued focus on growing non-cyclical and recurring revenues to decouple earnings from sales market volatility, gives me confidence that we will continue to deliver against our strategic priorities and medium-term profit ambitions.”

Foxtons CEO Guy Gittins says his turnaround plan has paid off