31st Oct 2019 10:42
(Alliance News) - Estate agency Foxtons Group PLC on Thursday said a deteriorating London sales market and a tenant fee ban weighed on its third-quarter revenue performance and, as a result, it remains focused on controlling costs to limit the impact of lower revenue on profitability.
Foxtons shares in London were down 1.5% at 66.00 pence.
The company saw a 7% year-on-year drop in revenue to GBP32.5 million for the three months to September 30, from GBP35.1 million a year ago. Revenue for the first nine months fell 5% to GBP83.6 million.
The company's Lettings division saw a 4% drop in quarterly revenue to GBP22.1 million, while Sales unit revenue saw a 15% fall to GBP8.4 million.
The sharp drop in Sales unit revenue was attributed to "ongoing political uncertainty" continuing to hurt volumes and prices in London residential sales market.
Revenue in the company's mortgage business, Alexander Hall, was flat with the same period last year at GBP2.1 million.
"Overall, this was a resilient performance set against the London sales market which continues to deteriorate and the impact of the tenant fee ban on our lettings business. We continue to manage costs tightly to ensure the business is well-placed to withstand this prolonged market downturn and are confident that this, coupled with our improved overall offer, positions us well for the future," Foxtons Chief Executive Nic Budden said.
Back in 2017, the UK government put in place a ban on tenants being forced to pay fees to letting agents.
By Tapan Panchal; [email protected]
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