Foxtons board of directors may be in for a rough ride on Wednesday when it holds its ‘virtual’ AGM.

Last month the firm raised £22m by issuing 55 million new shares to bolster its finance in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.

Companies are able to raise up to 20 per cent of their market value without a rights issue.

Foxtons warned that it could lose 78% of its expected revenue if lockdown did not end until the summer, but it also made clear that it was not running out of money or in any immediate financial difficulties.

Investor advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services has argued that because the company was not running out of cash it should have waited for investor approval, and that the AGM would have been the moment to seek that approval. The criticism was echoed by Glass Lewis, a provider of global governance services.

Both companies have urged investors to oppose resolutions on future share issues.

The voting will be an indication of reaction to the recent relaxation of rules on how much can be raised without consulting existing investors.

ISS notes that Foxtons has responded to the criticism saying:

“The vast majority of shares were placed pro-rata with current shareholdings so that there was a very limited impact on pre-emption rights.”