Foxtons has reported a fall in profit before tax due to uncertainty in the UK housing market caused by the EU referendum and recent changes to the tax regime.
For the year ended 31st December 2015, the estate agent saw profit before tax fall 2.6% to £41m, although group revenue rose £4.1% to £149.8m.
Foxtons said activity in central London had been “especially constrained” due to price growth and stamp duty changes which had increased the cost of moving home.
Nic Budden, Chief Executive Officer at Foxtons, said: “Our market leading position in London and strong customer proposition enabled us to significantly outperform in a sales market which was slow to recover post the General Election of May 2015.
“Looking ahead, the London residential property market continues to be highly attractive both in terms of sales and lettings although it is too early to predict how transaction volumes may be impacted by recent changes to the tax regime and the short-term political and economic uncertainty caused by the UK referendum on leaving the European Union.
“We have entered the new year with an encouraging sales pipeline, a strong lettings book and a clear strategy for further growth through our organic branch expansion.”
Foxtons has opened four new branches in 2016 and expects to open three more later this year, bringing the total number to 65.
Leave a comment