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Courtesy Independent....
Foxtons: The estate agent that gives estate agents a bad name
The firm is set to float on the stock market - cue joy for the staff who will be quids in, and despair
for customers burnt by its controversial tactics
Forget trust, it's results that matter
Anthony Hilton: Why this is one housing market to stay out of
Who lives in a house like this? Some vendors will go to great lengths to sell their property
90% of house buyers want estate agents to be regulated
Forget trust, it's results that matter
When Foxtons continued its march across London's gentrifying neighbourhoods by opening a
branch in Brixton earlier this year, an off-message objector wasted little time in twice redecorating
the window of estate agent's cafe-style frontage. Shortly after the spray-painted word "yuck"
was removed, employees arrived a few mornings later to find "yuppies out!" added instead.
The incident may have elicited a wry smile among Londoners many of whom believe that Foxtons,
renowned for its fleets of liveried Minis and robust sales techniques, has achieved the difficult
feat of lowering estate agents in public esteem. But proof that sharp suits - and accusations of
sharp practice - are no impediment to commercial success, was brought into sharper relief today
when the firm announced it plans to profit from the capital's resurgent housing market by floating
on the stock market.
Amid a near 60 per cent rise in the number of smaller independent estate agents going bankrupt
in the last 12 months and the rise of online property sites such as Zoopla, it seems larger
corporate property brokers and their managers are doing rather well.
As well as raising £55million and wiping out the firm's remaining debt while valuing it at around £500m
, the sale by Foxtons' private equity owner BC Partners is expected to realise a windfall of
up to £100m for the estate agent's top management, who hold about 20 per cent of the business.
