 | |
| Company type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| LSE: FOXT | |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Jon Hunt |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people |
|
| Revenue |  £147.1 million (2023) [1] |
 £9.8 million (2023) [1] | |
| £5.5 million (2023) [1] | |
| Website | www |
Foxtons Group plc is a British estate agency company dealing with both lettings and sales. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Foxtons was founded by Jon Hunt in 1981 in Notting Hill, London, as a two-person estate agency. [2]
2001 saw the launch of promotionally branded Minis, bearing the Foxtons logo. [3]
Foxtons was acquired by private equity firm BC Partners in 2007 for £390 million. [4]
In December 2009, private equity firm BC Partners lost control of Foxtons, less than three years after buying it, after creditors reorganised the real estate broker's debt. [5]
On 27 August 2013, Foxtons unveiled its flotation on the London Stock Exchange to raise £55m from private investors. [6]
On 1 July 2014, Michael Brown stepped down as CEO, citing personal reasons for his decision. Previous COO, Nic Budden took on the role of CEO. [7]
In May 2022, Nic Budden stepped down as CEO and Peter Rollings took over as interim CEO; it was announced that Guy Gittins would take up the post on a permanent basis in September 2022. [8]
In March 2006, the BBC ran an undercover report and revealed many questionable actions taken by Foxtons employees such as faking signatures and purposefully overvaluing properties. [9]
In May 2013, BBC Watchdog reported that Foxtons imposes tenancy agreements which demand in the small print that tenants must use utilities supplier Spark Energy Ltd. The BBC stated Foxtons are paid commission by Spark Energy Ltd. [10]
Foxtons has over 50 offices. [11] [12] It is a member of The Property Ombudsman, The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) (Licensed Member), [13] The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) (Licensed Member), [14] [15] [16] and the National Approved Letting Scheme. Foxtons is also a founding member of the Safe Agent Fully Endorsed client money protection scheme (SAFE) [17] as well as Tenancy Deposit Scheme. [18]
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged in the marketing of property available for sale and contract reassignments, and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is used to prepare the legal documents. In Scotland, however, many solicitors also act as estate agents, a practice that is rare in England and Wales.
Prudential plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people.
Countrywide is one of the UK's largest integrated property services group including residential property surveying, a collaboration of estate agents, and corporate services. It employs circa 8,500 personnel nationwide, working across 650+ estate agency or lettings offices operating under 50+ brands. Countrywide is a wholly owned subsidiary of Connells Group
The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody. It is one of London's oldest and largest housing associations with over 100,000 homes across London and the home counties. It is also a community benefit society and urban regeneration agency, with a focus on placemaking, stewardship and a provider of an extensive range of community programmes.
Wells & Co. is the holding company of the Charles Wells Brewery and Pub Company. Charles Wells Ltd was founded in 1876 by Charles Wells in Bedford, England.
The Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000, and given statutory powers in 2001 by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based businesses providing financial services, such as banks, building societies, insurance companies, investment firms, financial advisers and finance companies.
Costain Group plc is a British construction and engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead, England. Founded in 1865, its history includes extensive housebuilding and mining activities, but it later focused on civil engineering and commercial construction projects. It was part of the British/French consortium which constructed the Channel Tunnel at the end of the 1980s, and has been involved in Private Finance Initiative projects.
Rightmove plc is a British company which runs rightmove.co.uk, the UK's largest online real estate property portal. Rightmove is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Under the provisions of the United Kingdom Housing Act 2004 every landlord or letting agent that takes a deposit for an assured shorthold tenancy in England and Wales must protect the deposit under an authorised tenancy deposit scheme. The regulations came into effect on 6 April 2007, and were amended by the Localism Act 2011 and the Deregulation Act 2015. Most recently the Tenant Fees Act 2019 provided further protections for tenants.
A letting agent is a facilitator through which an agreement is made between a landlord and tenant to rent a residential property. This is commonly used in countries using British English, including countries of the Commonwealth. In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, the agreement between landlord and tenant is normally formalised by the signing of a tenancy agreement. A letting agency normally charges a commission for their services, usually a percentage of the monthly rent.
Jonathan Michael Hunt, is a British billionaire property entrepreneur. He is best known as the founder of UK estate agency Foxtons, and is more recently known as the founder of Pavilion, a business members club chain. He has developed Wilderness Reserve, an area of restored natural lakes, parkland and woods situated in Suffolk's Yox Valley.
Rosalind Miriam Altmann, Baroness Altmann, is a British life peer, leading UK pensions expert, and political campaigner. She was appointed to the House of Lords following the 2015 general election as a Conservative, but describes her work both before and after the election as being politically independent, championing ordinary people and social justice.
Lloyds Banking Group plc is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765 but the wider Group's heritage extends over 320 years, dating back to the founding of the Bank of Scotland by the Parliament of Scotland in 1695.
Trustpilot Group plc, is a Danish consumer business operating a review website founded in Denmark in 2007 which hosts reviews of businesses worldwide. Nearly 1 million new reviews are posted each month. The site offers freemium services to businesses. It has been criticised for the publication of fake reviews, and allowing companies to remove negative reviews. Trustpilot is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It has been providing consumers and property agents with an alternative dispute resolution service since 1990.
Hamptons is an estate agent that has a UK network of more than 93 branches and an international affiliate partner network of over 7,000 offices. Hamptons' parent company, Countrywide, was acquired by The Connells Group in April 2021.
The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 came into force on 7 March 2011. Every landlord or letting agent that receives a deposit in Scotland must register with their local authority and join a tenancy deposit scheme.
Pavilion is a British business members' club co-founded by the UK property entrepreneur Jon Hunt and his daughter Emma. It opened under the name "Dryland" on London's Kensington High Street at the end of 2011, offering work space.
Right to Rent is the name given to a UK Government policy contained in the Immigration Act 2016 whereby landlords in England have to check the immigration status of tenants they rent properties to, and deny lodgings to those who cannot prove they are permitted to live in a rented home.
Purplebricks is a British online estate agent which operates in the UK. Founded in 2012 by Michael Bruce, Kenny Bruce and David Shepherd, it is backed by investors that include venture capital firm DN Capital as well as Neil Woodford, Paul Pindar, and Errol Damelin.
Media related to Foxtons at Wikimedia Commons
