Foxtons Up For Sale? Shareholders put board under pressure

The board of Foxtons is under pressure from a minority of shareholders to put the agency group up for sale, according to a media report.

The Sunday Times reported over the weekend that Milkwood Capital - an investment fund which already has a four per cent share of Foxtons - is the latest shareholder to demand the sale.

A spokesperson for Milkwood tells the newspaper: “In 2005 Foxtons was a £1 billion company but the public markets are no longer valuing the good work the management has done recently and the only way to extract fair value is for the board to carry out a sale process.”

The Sunday Times says another shareholder - Converium Capital, which owns six per cent of the agency - has been lobbying for a sale for well over a year.

Earlier this month Foxtons snapped up London lettings agency Ludlow Thompson for £10m.

A statement from Foxtons at the time said the acquisition reflects “continued progress against the Group's lettings portfolio acquisition strategy, which is focused on growing non-cyclical and recurring revenue streams.”

Last month a third quarter trading update from Foxtons showed that lettings is leading the agency’s growth drive.

Its strategy of buying lettings businesses plus organic growth in the capital’s rental sector pushed revenue up 5.0 per cent to £114.8 million despite sales volumes being down 23 per cent in the current poor market.

The agency reported lettings revenue was up over the quarter by 8.0 per cent to £31.6m and up 18 per cent over the year to £81.3m.