Estate agent Foxtons (LON:FOXT) reported a loss in the first half of the year, driven by a slowing demand for housing in London.
The group reported a pre-tax loss of £2.5 million, down from a profit of £3.8 million a year earlier. Revenue dropped to £53.0 million, down from £58.5 million, and adjusted earnings (EBITDA) fell to £0.1 million from £7.1 million a year earlier.
Foxtons, who do a large proportion of their business in London, attributed the disappointing results to slower sales in the capital, driven by a general slowdown in the London property market.
However, it wasn’t just sales that fell, with lettings revenues also witnessing a drop. Lettings revenues fell 1 percent to £31.7 million, after rent prices fell by 2 percent year-on-year.
Given the loss achieved for the year, the company chose not to issue a dividend.
“As expected the weak sales market impacted our performance in the first half of 2018. After a slow start to the year, performance in our lettings business improved throughout the period delivering another consistent result for the first six months,” said Nic Budden, CEO.
“The property sales market in London is undergoing a sustained period of very low activity levels with longer and less visible transaction outcomes, which clearly impacts our business”.
Foxtons shares are currently up 1.73 percent despite the loss, trading at 48.42 (0849GMT).
