London estate agent will emerge with "strength to thrive" despite 22 per cent revenue drop

A London estate agent has announced that its revenue declined by 22 per cent in the first half of the year.

Foxtons Group reported today that Covid-19 had a “significant impact” on its business, but that it will emerge with the “strength to thrive”.

The group’s revenue declined by 22 per cent to £40.4m, down from £51.8m in 2019, and group adjusted operating loss was £2.4m compared to £0.9m in 2019.

Nic Budden, CEO of Foxtons, commented: “At Foxtons we have always recognised that our people are the key to our success and never has this been more apparent than during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am extremely proud of our colleagues across the entire business as they have continued to deliver exceptional service to our customers through truly unprecedented conditions.

“This would not have been possible without our best in class technology, which enabled us to support customers remotely as they navigated the challenges of national lockdown.

“In addition, management’s rapid response to protect the business for the future with a range of measures, including our successful £22m capital raising, will ensure that we will emerge from this crisis with the capability and financial strength to thrive.

“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.

“With the determined action that we have taken to ensure financial and operational flexibility, as well as ensuring the safety of our employees and customers, we remain confident that Foxtons is well-placed to capitalise as the market recovers.

“In such challenging times, we are committed to delivering the best results for our customers.”