28th Jul 2020 11:21
(Alliance News) - Estate agent Foxtons Group PLC on Tuesday reported a widened first half loss with Covid-19 hitting the UK housing market.
Revenue in the six months to June 30 fell 22% to GBP40.4 million from GBP51.8 million a year ago. Its pretax loss stretched to GBP4.3 million from GBP2.5 million.
"Covid-19 and the associated measures implemented by the government to control its spread had a significant impact on the business during the first half of 2020, but a strong group operational response considerably mitigated the impact of lockdown on profitability," Foxtons said.
Lettings revenue fell 21% annually with, sales revenue down 28% and mortgage broking down 9%.
During the period, the company claimed GBP3.8 million in wages under the UK's coronavirus job retention scheme.
"Before lockdown we were seeing first signs of a recovery from the prolonged downturn in London, however the market has been profoundly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is still unclear what the long-term impact of the virus will be. There is a long road ahead, but we remain confident in London's resilience and ability to bounce back from this crisis as one of the most attractive property markets in the world," Chief Executive Officer Nic Bidden said.
Foxtons shares were 2.7% higher at 38.30 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
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