Winkworth and Foxtons lifted by London market
LONDON estate agent Foxtons and its smaller rival Winkworth both posted strong results yesterday thanks to the capital’s buoyant property market.
Foxtons, which floated in September last year, enjoyed a 19.2 per cent jump in sales to £34.1m in the first three months of 2014, its first fiscal quarter, compared with the same time in 2013.
Property sales commissions were up 41.1 per cent to £17.6m on the prior year thanks to higher property prices and the expansion of its cafe-style branches into popular but less central London areas including Greenwich and Beckenham.
The company said revenue from lettings was broadly flat at £15m as the sharp upturn in the sales market dampened demand for lettings.
Chairman Gary Watts said despite uncertainty over the availability of housing in the future, Foxtons’ pipeline was “well ahead of last year” and said it had been an “excellent” start to the year. However, stocks in the firm fell one per cent yesterday.
Meanwhile its smaller London-focused competitor Winkworth reported that pre-tax profits had risen by 57.9 per cent to a record £1.69m in the year to 31 December, on sales up 15.2 per cent to £4.94m.
The group expects prices in central London to rise by five per cent this year and by 10 per cent in the “outer ring” of London.