REG - Foxtons Group PLC - Unaudited Year End Trading Update and Acquisition

FoxtonsAnnouncement

Today 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260115:nRSO9610Oa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 9610O  Foxtons Group PLC  15 January 2026

Foxtons Group plc

Unaudited 2025 Year End Trading Update and Acquisition of Cauldwell Property
Services

 

15 January 2026 - Foxtons Group plc (LSE: FOXT) ("the Group" or "Foxtons")
provides an update on trading for the year ended 31 December 2025, together
with the acquisition of Cauldwell Property Services Ltd ("Cauldwell"),
expanding its presence into the fast-growing commuter town of Milton Keynes
and further advancing the Group's growth strategy.

 

2025 strategic highlights

·   Lettings contributed c.64% of Group revenue, with strong margins
delivering earnings stability despite sales market volatility.

·    Appointed a new Managing Director of Sales in December 2025, to drive
revenue growth and improve profitability. James Stevenson brings 20 years'
Foxtons experience and a track record of driving growth.

·    HQ relocation complete. Expected to enhance collaboration across key
functions alongside delivering c.£1.5m annual operating cost savings from
January 2026, partly mitigating the impact of higher national insurance costs
and general inflationary pressures.

·     Further investment in people and culture. Launched our "Getting It
Done. Together" framework, aligning all elements of the Group's people
strategy and building on the work to date to foster a respectful, rewarding,
and inspiring workplace which delivers an enhanced experience for all
stakeholders.

·     Formed an exclusive partnership with IAG Loyalty, making Foxtons
the only UK estate agent through which customers can collect Avios, aimed at
attracting landlords, rewarding loyalty, and driving adoption of high-margin
services.

·    Returned £5.5m to shareholders via two share buyback programmes,
alongside £3.6m of dividends, in line with the Group's capital allocation
policy.

·    Increased the size of the Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) to £40m,
from £30m, to support the acquisition strategy and working capital
requirements. All other terms of the RCF remain unchanged.

 

2025 trading review (unaudited)

Total revenue for the full year was c.£172m, up c.5% versus the prior year
(2024: £163.9m). Adjusted operating profit of c.£22m (2024: £22.1m(1)) as
the Group strategically maintained Sales headcount to preserve bench strength,
positioning itself for expected market stabilisation in 2026.

 

Lettings revenue increased by c.5%, driven by incremental revenue from
acquisitions and broadly flat like-for-like revenues(2). Operating margins
were maintained, despite lower interest on client monies, through a continued
focus on growing higher margin revenues, such as property management services.

 

Sales revenue increased by c.5%, with incremental revenues from acquisitions
offsetting a like-for-like revenue decline of c.2%. The Group delivered
particularly strong Q1 2025 revenues ahead of the March stamp duty holiday,
after which activity slowed, with the second half impacted by a
much-publicised slowdown in the market leading up to the Autumn Budget
alongside broader economic uncertainty.

 

Financial Services revenue was up c.10%, driven by higher levels of refinance
opportunities alongside growth in new purchase mortgages revenues reflecting
operational upgrades to improve productivity and increased connectivity with
estate agency operations.

 

The Group's net debt at year end was c.£17m (31 Dec 2024: £12.7m) as
improved net free cash flow(3) was more than offset by £5.3m of acquisition
spend and £9.1m of shareholder returns (buybacks and dividends).

 

Acquisition of Cauldwell

On 7 January 2026, the Group completed the acquisition of Cauldwell, a leading
independent agent in Milton Keynes, for a total enterprise value of £6.5m on
a cash and debt-free basis, of which £0.8m is deferred for 12 months and
contingent on performance targets being met. Cauldwell's unaudited total
revenue and operating profit for the 12 months ended 30 November 2025 was
£3.1m and £0.8m, respectively. Approximately two-thirds of total revenue is
attributable to Lettings.

Milton Keynes is a high-growth commuter town with strong road and rail links
to London. The city is located within both the London commuter belt and the
Government-backed "Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor". The city ranks among the
highest areas in the UK for GDP per capita and has seen strong population
growth, supported by significant levels of New Homes and Build-to-Rent
developments.

 

The acquisition delivers progress against the Group's strategy to acquire
high-quality, non-cyclical and earnings-accretive lettings businesses to
enhance the Group's portfolio of recurring revenues. The acquisition also
delivers progress against the Group's strategy to expand into London's
commuter towns to unlock growth opportunities in new regions.

 

The acquisition will serve as Foxtons' hub in Milton Keynes and, supported by
the industry-leading Foxtons Operating Platform, is expected to drive organic
growth through revenue and cost synergies, alongside enabling high ROI bolt-on
acquisitions. The directors of Cauldwell will remain with the business
post-acquisition to lead the next stage of growth under Foxtons' ownership.

 

2026 and medium-term outlook

Lettings is expected to remain resilient in 2026, supported by tenant demand
and good stock levels, which underpin rental pricing and transaction volumes.
The Group has a well-developed pipeline of acquisition opportunities and
expects to announce further acquisitions over the course of 2026 in line with
its strategy.

 

Sales began 2026 with a lower under-offer pipeline than the previous year, as
a result of the significant sales market disruption around the Autumn Budget
and a very strong comparative period in Q4 2024 (ahead of the March 2025 stamp
duty deadline). Due to the lower under-offer pipeline, Q1 2026 Sales revenues
will be lower than those recorded in Q1 2025. When the sales market
normalises, we expect a more stable market backdrop, with transaction volumes
to benefit from recent mortgage rate reductions and the release of pent-up
demand.

 

With ongoing uncertainty around the economic outlook and buyer confidence in
2026, the Group expects to deliver revenue and profit growth in the year,
underpinned by non‑cyclical and recurring Lettings revenue.

 

Guy Gittins, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"Despite economic headwinds and fiscal events creating uncertainty in our
markets, the Group delivered acquisition-led revenue growth and continued to
make progress against our strategy.

 

"We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Cauldwell, the leading
independent agent in Milton Keynes, and welcome their fantastic team to
Foxtons. I am also pleased to have recently appointed James Stevenson as our
new Managing Director of Sales. James has a strong track record of driving
growth and is well placed to deliver market share gains.

 

"Through continued progress against our growth strategy, and underpinned by
our portfolio of high quality, recurring Lettings revenues, we are confident
in our ability to grow Group revenues and profits. Our focus remains on
achieving our medium‑term targets, including the delivery of £50m of
adjusted operating profit."

 

The Group intends to report its 2025 full year results on 5 March 2026.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Foxtons Group plc

 Chris Hough, Chief Financial Officer      investor@foxtonsgroup.co.uk (mailto:investor@foxtonsgroup.co.uk)

 Muhammad Patel, Investor Relations        +44 20 7893 6261

 Cardew Group                              Foxtons@cardewgroup.com (mailto:Foxtons@cardewgroup.com)

 Olivia Rosser / William Baldwin-Charles   + 44 7552 864 250/ +44 7834 524 833

 

( )

( )

(1) 2024 adjusted operating profit has been restated from £21.6m (as
previously reported) to £22.1m under the Group's revised adjusted items
policy. The policy now excludes non-cash IFRS 2 charges from the CEO's LTIP
buyout award, as these relate to forfeited incentives from his former employer
and do not represent underlying performance.

(2) Like-for-like revenue is defined as Lettings revenue excluding revenues
from acquisitions operated for less than 12 months and interest on client
monies.

(3) Net free cash flow is net cash from operating activities less repayment of
IFRS 16 lease liabilities and net cash used in investing activities, excluding
the acquisition of subsidiaries (net of any cash acquired) and purchases of
investments.

 

About

 

Founded in 1981, Foxtons is London's leading estate agency and largest
lettings agency brand, with a portfolio of over 31,000 tenancies. The Group
operates from a network of interconnected branches in London and surrounding
high growth commuter towns, offering a range of residential property services
across three business segments: Lettings, Sales and Financial Services.

 

The Group's strategy to accelerate growth is focused on non-cyclical and
recurring revenues from Lettings and Financial Services refinance activities,
supplemented by market share growth in Sales. This growth is underpinned by
its key competitive advantage, the Foxtons Operating Platform, which comprises
unrivalled and market leading technology and data capabilities, its brand,
unique hub and spoke model and its performance-led and inclusive culture.

 

The business has four strategic priorities:

 

·      Lettings organic growth: driving portfolio growth by
strengthening customer acquisition and retention, alongside enhancing margins
through cross-selling high-value services.

·      Lettings acquisitions: acquire, integrate and service
high-quality lettings portfolios.

·      Sales growth: increasing market share by growing the share of
property instructions and improving conversion rates, whilst driving
profitability through enhanced productivity.

·      Financial Services growth: improving scale and cross-sell to
drive revenue growth.

 

To find out more, please visit www.foxtonsgroup.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTDGGDBCDBDGLS



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved