Foxtons pays out special dividend
LONDON estate agent Foxtons declared a special dividend yesterday as it reported the first set of results since its September market debut, with London’s booming housing market driving profits up more than 50 per cent.
The company, known for its fleet of staff-driven Mini Cooper cars and cafe-style branches, said it will pay a total of £15.4m to shareholders, made up of a final dividend of 1.7p a share and a special dividend of 3.74p a share.
Profit before tax rose 56.6 per cent to £38.9m in 2013, from £24.9m the previous year, while revenues were up 16 per cent to £139.2m.
Chief executive Michael Brown said the group had enjoyed a strong start since its float in September, which left it debt-free.
“Our organic expansion strategy, together with improving market share within the more mature branches, helped drive this strong performance,” he said in a statement.
The group said that despite the dearth of houses for sale, it achieved 22.5 per cent growth in property sale volumes over the year. This was due to the expansion of its branch network, which has seen it move into less central but more popular London neighbourhoods such as Brixton and Crystal Palace. Shares closed up 0.21 per cent at 376p.