Foxtons faces yet another investor revolt over executive pay and share price
Hosking Partners, which owns 11.2 per cent of Foxtons, has called for “board-level change” at the estate agent over concerns about its share price and its bosses pay.
Jeremy Hosking, the boss of Foxtons’ biggest investor, wrote to chairman Ian Barlow to outline his dissatisfaction, the Times first reported.
Hosking expressed frustration about the company’s share price, which stands at about 59p, having fallen from around 94p per share before the pandemic. He was also unimpressed by pay at the estate agent.
Earlier this year some 40 per cent of shareholders voted against Foxtons’ remuneration structure, which awarded Nic Budden almost £1m in bonuses for the year despite the business taking some £7m in government Covid support.
Budden received a short-term cash bonus of £389,300 and shares worth £569,000 under a longer-term incentive scheme.
In response, Foxtons promised to review future pay.
As spokesperson for Foxtons said: “As we set out extensively at our capital markets event on Thursday current trading is very strong, Foxtons has a clear plan for growth and the board has total confidence in the executive team’s ability to deliver on the strategy.
“Foxtons has unique capabilities and a lean platform enabling us to efficiently convert sales growth to profits. This combined with the improving market conditions we are seeing, our expansion plans and lettings book acquisitions means we are very confident we can grow profits rapidly and deliver significant, sustainable long-term shareholder value.”