Foxtons has a number of branches in London
(Picture: Foxtons)Foxtons, the under-pressure London estate agency chain, is considering a sale of its mortgage broking business.
The company said it is reviewing strategic options for Alexander Hall Associates Limited, which could include a potential disposal of it.
It has been part of Foxtons since the early nineties, and has around 80 staff. Alexander Hall accounted for £8.1 million of the group’s £93.5 million recorded in revenues last year.
Mortgage Solutions, which tipped the sale, on Tuesday reported that several mortgage advice firms have been approached by third parties acting for Foxtons with marketing packs targeting the acquisition of Alexander Hall in the last two months.
Shares in Foxtons this morning gained 2.65p, or more than 5%, to 49.4p.
Today’s update comes at a time when Foxtons is undergoing a number of changes. It is on the hunt for a new chairman after earlier this month Ian Barlow said he planned to retire.
It was reported in June that shareholder Hosking Partners was concerned with the share price which was then around a third below where it was before the pandemic, despite the industry seeing high demand for homes, helped by the stamp duty holiday launched last year.
Some firms in the capital saw would-be buyers and tenants seek larger properties with gardens away from London during the pandemic.
Barlow recently said: “A series of challenges to the London property market since the Brexit referendum, compounded more recently by the pandemic, have impaired our recent trading performance.”
But he also said the “business has huge potential” and he was confident that a refreshed growth strategy will result in a “substantial rebound in performance”.
Trading momentum has been improving and the company this year outlined growth plans, including expanding outside of London and investing more in tech.
