Foxtons Share Price And The Housing Market - Merged

[warrior88]

3 hours ago, vincent said:

Ocado

Worldpay - and I worked on its IPO back in 2015.

IPO at 220p or 240p (I forgot exactly how much) - now worth 6,624p. Over 27 fold increase in value.

[simvastatin]

4 minutes ago, warrior88 said:

Worldpay - and I worked on its IPO back in 2015.

IPO at 220p or 240p (I forgot exactly how much) - now worth 6,624p. Over 27 fold increase in value.

Spyguy is 95% correct 

[simvastatin]

22 minutes ago, spyguy said:

All doing same scam.

PE gets a local one two operation - say Bills.

Buy it, roll it out nationwide, then try and exit before all the cheap lease periods end.

They are failing.

5hit I learned an important lesson from that

[stuckmojo]

On 21/07/2018 at 09:11, mathschoc said:

I remember when Foxtons pretty much told me they were too posh for me when I was looking for a flat to rent.

I walked in, clothes unironed but clean, hair unkept as the baby had kept me up during the night. A woman walked straight up to me and told me directly they have nothing in my price range, she wanted me out ASAP. 

Great, they are going down the pan, going to write them a letter to rub it in.

Wankers for doing this. I had the same treatment at a car dealership turning up in a Sepultura T-shirt. I now do the same at the Mercedes dealer when I need parts and loiter around the showroom as I wait. this way they work at the speed of light. Wankers. 

[spyguy]

Well ... if sunday papers are to be believed, countrywide are placing 100m of funding.

 

Time for all those EAs to re mortgage and put their money where their hair gel is.

 

[VancouverGuy]

3 hours ago, stuckmojo said:

Wankers for doing this. I had the same treatment at a car dealership turning up in a Sepultura T-shirt. I now do the same at the Mercedes dealer when I need parts and loiter around the showroom as I wait. this way they work at the speed of light. Wankers. 

Years ago there used to be a tramp in London, who had a side-gig as a debt collector, getting debts paid by big companies. Anyone who was owed moey by a big company with a fancy head office in London could pay this guy to show up at their head office, dressed in smelly rags, unwashed, stinking of piss, and would ask to get the debt paid. When he got the standard "Nobody is available today", or the "Please put it in writing", he would sit in reception all day stinking the place out ("That's OK - I don't mind waiting").

Used to work pretty well apparently.

[thewig]

32 minutes ago, VancouverGuy said:

Years ago there used to be a tramp in London, who had a side-gig as a debt collector, getting debts paid by big companies. Anyone who was owed moey by a big company with a fancy head office in London could pay this guy to show up at their head office, dressed in smelly rags, unwashed, stinking of piss, and would ask to get the debt paid. When he got the standard "Nobody is available today", or the "Please put it in writing", he would sit in reception all day stinking the place out ("That's OK - I don't mind waiting").

Used to work pretty well apparently.

Outrageous story. I don’t know where to begin in the I don’t believe that happened for a second stakes.

[simvastatin]

1 hour ago, VancouverGuy said:

Years ago there used to be a tramp in London, who had a side-gig as a debt collector, getting debts paid by big companies. Anyone who was owed moey by a big company with a fancy head office in London could pay this guy to show up at their head office, dressed in smelly rags, unwashed, stinking of piss, and would ask to get the debt paid. When he got the standard "Nobody is available today", or the "Please put it in writing", he would sit in reception all day stinking the place out ("That's OK - I don't mind waiting").

Used to work pretty well apparently.

Yeah I heard this story in the 70s

[thewig]

I believe it even less now ?

[Fromage Frais]

On 21/07/2018 at 21:14, spyguy said:

All doing same scam.

PE gets a local one two operation - say Bills.

Buy it, roll it out nationwide, then try and exit before all the cheap lease periods end.

They are failing.

Agreed.

With the added benefit of shafting independents for rents, customers and staff.

 

[Fromage Frais]

On 22/07/2018 at 11:11, stuckmojo said:

Wankers for doing this. I had the same treatment at a car dealership turning up in a Sepultura T-shirt. I now do the same at the Mercedes dealer when I need parts and loiter around the showroom as I wait. this way they work at the speed of light. Wankers. 

Back in the day as a student I worked at PC World for a while in London.

Scruffy older gentleman looking at the laptops ignored by my fellow salesmen.

I am from Norfolk so really rich folk round here often are in wellies  worn out jumper with a bashed up defender containing muddy dogs.

5 top of the line laptops and a black private bank card whipped out.

You just can never tell and this was the 90s these days more applicable given a single granny can borrow 100k on the bungalows equity if so desired

 

Edited July 23, 2018 by Fromage Frais

[stuckmojo]

1 hour ago, Fromage Frais said:

Back in the day as a student I worked at PC World for a while in London.

Scruffy older gentleman looking at the laptops ignored by my fellow salesmen.

I am from Norfolk so really rich folk round here often are in wellies  worn out jumper with a bashed up defender containing muddy dogs.

5 top of the line laptops and a black private bank card whipped out.

You just can never tell and this was the 90s these days more applicable given a single granny can borrow 100k on the bungalows equity if so desired

 

Exactly

[Lambie]

22 hours ago, VancouverGuy said:

Years ago there used to be a tramp in London, who had a side-gig as a debt collector, getting debts paid by big companies. Anyone who was owed moey by a big company with a fancy head office in London could pay this guy to show up at their head office, dressed in smelly rags, unwashed, stinking of piss, and would ask to get the debt paid. When he got the standard "Nobody is available today", or the "Please put it in writing", he would sit in reception all day stinking the place out ("That's OK - I don't mind waiting").

Used to work pretty well apparently.

I wonder if Terry Pratchett knew of him - sounds like the inspiration for Foul Ole Ron..

https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Foul_Ole_Ron

[Ash4781]

On 22/07/2018 at 12:00, spyguy said:

Well ... if sunday papers are to be believed, countrywide are placing 100m of funding.

 

Time for all those EAs to re mortgage and put their money where their hair gel is.

 

£100mn!  I don’t think there is a prospectus yet but I imagine it will be very expensive.

[Kilham]

So will they need to start making their own hair gel or have they already been doing so?.

[spyguy]

1 hour ago, Ash4781 said:

£100mn!  I don’t think there is a prospectus yet but I imagine it will be very expensive.

CW has already been a pretty expensive share.....

[rantnrave]

EYE NEWSFLASH: Foxtons’ profits turn into losses as sales revenue plunges

July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 | Rosalind Renshaw http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/eye-newsflash-foxtons-profits-turn-into-losses-as-sales-revenue-plunges/

Foxtons this morning reported pre-tax losses of £2.5m in the first half of this year, after sales revenue plunged £17.2m – down 23%.

This time a year ago, it reported pre-tax profits of £3.8m.

Its group revenue in the six months to the end of June was £53m, down from £58.5m in the same period last year.

The performance meant a loss per share of 1.1p, instead of an earning of 1.2p, and there will be no dividend.

However, Foxtons said it continues to be debt-free, and as at the end of June had a cash balance of £11.8m. Its group adjusted EBITDA of £7.1m for the first half of this year turned to just £0.1m in the same period this year.

Its income per property sold rose very slightly, to £14,450. Lettings represented 60% of revenue, at £31.7m, but even this was slightly down on a year ago, when it stood at £32.1.

Foxtons also said that in the first half of this year, it invested £1m in technology company Propology, which provides white-label digital agency software – Foxtons said it may potentially leverage this in future.

CEO Nic Budden said: “The property sales market in London is undergoing a sustained period of very low activity levels with longer and less visible transaction outcomes, which clearly impacts our business.

“We continue, however, to achieve market leading share of listings giving us confidence that our service led, results based model remains highly relevant to consumers. Going forward we will continue to invest in our proposition to enable us to maintain our differentiation in the minds of buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants.

“Looking ahead, availability of mortgage finance, absorption of Stamp Duty costs, and the return of confidence to the market will, amongst other factors, determine the timing and rate of increased activity levels.

London though remains an important global city. Our franchise is well known and we remain debt free.  

“Our ability continuously to improve quality, adapt our business models to underlying shifts – such as the expansion of digital capability and institutional investment in the private rented sector – and keep a tight focus on operating costs puts us in a strong position to benefit both from the momentum in our lettings business and to capitalise on increased sales activity as it returns. We remain confident of our long term prospects.”

[Mossie]

50 minutes ago, rantnrave said:

Lettings represented 60% of revenue

Haven't got time to look at their latest results, but it's always bugged the hell out of me Lettings Revenue has been more than Sales Revenue, from my memory of looking back at their results during last few years.

51 minutes ago, rantnrave said:

increased sales activity as it returns.

That's what HPCers need as well in this locked up market.

52 minutes ago, rantnrave said:

However, Foxtons said it continues to be debt-free, and as at the end of June had a cash balance of £11.8m. Its group adjusted EBITDA of £7.1m for the first half of this year turned to just £0.1m in the same period this year.

It's not the first year read them state about being debt-free as a position of strength/good for them.

Yet so many people in the housing market would have others take on big debt to buy.  Not just bankers pushing it, but other family and friends, even some HPCers with "use credit-cards to pay near £400,000 and escape Rental Trap" and Gov with HTB.

[NuBrit]

Surprised at the lack of comment on these numbers, I think they are very interesting.

Firstly, as much as Foxtons is despised by folks on here, it is actually a very good business. Little capital required, in a net cash position, with a high fee model. Even in a weak market like today, they were still cash flow positive, which is saying something when you look at the state that Countrywide is in.

With that said, their top line fell by 14% which is significant drop on the previous year. Extrapolating these numbers, it's looking like Foxtons will do about £100m revenue for year-end. Going back a few years, I see that their high-water mark for revenue was year end 2015 when they did £150m in total, so revenue is down 33% from the peak. In terms of property sales though, things are much, much worse. What's really interesting is that Foxtons did £72.5m in revenue for property sale commissions alone in 2015. For 2018, that number is more likely to come in at about £30m-35m - so sales commissions have fallen by over half. The average commission fees themselves have remained strong, the issue here is the collapse in volume that has shown no signs of slowing down, let alone reversing.

It all feels very eerie out there, like the calm before the storm. The decline in volume reads across the industry and if previous crashes were anything to go by, should preclude price declines. Countrywide going into restructuring was the first of weaker players hitting the wall on the transactions side. If things are as bad as I think they are, then I would expect us to start seeing some distress in the sub-prime/BTL lending space. Only time will tell...

[Ash4781]

1 hour ago, NuBrit said:

Surprised at the lack of comment on these numbers, I think they are very interesting.

Firstly, as much as Foxtons is despised by folks on here, it is actually a very good business. Little capital required, in a net cash position, with a high fee model. Even in a weak market like today, they were still cash flow positive, which is saying something when you look at the state that Countrywide is in.

With that said, their top line fell by 14% which is significant drop on the previous year. Extrapolating these numbers, it's looking like Foxtons will do about £100m revenue for year-end. Going back a few years, I see that their high-water mark for revenue was year end 2015 when they did £150m in total, so revenue is down 33% from the peak. In terms of property sales though, things are much, much worse. What's really interesting is that Foxtons did £72.5m in revenue for property sale commissions alone in 2015. For 2018, that number is more likely to come in at about £30m-35m - so sales commissions have fallen by over half. The average commission fees themselves have remained strong, the issue here is the collapse in volume that has shown no signs of slowing down, let alone reversing.

It all feels very eerie out there, like the calm before the storm. The decline in volume reads across the industry and if previous crashes were anything to go by, should preclude price declines. Countrywide going into restructuring was the first of weaker players hitting the wall on the transactions side. If things are as bad as I think they are, then I would expect us to start seeing some distress in the sub-prime/BTL lending space. Only time will tell...

I dunno it’s difficult to spot the one off items as what I’m seeing from the numbers is operating loss and net cashflow of approx -£6mm. Ok they started with £18mn in the bank at start of year. Sales division looks to be a bloodbath but it’s unclear if this is because of one offs - surely it’s making people redundant, shuting branches ,etc ? I couldn’t find the headcount analysis.

Edit- from memory I think they were adding branches going into the transaction downturn.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Ash4781

[Fromage Frais]

2 hours ago, Ash4781 said:

I dunno it’s difficult to spot the one off items as what I’m seeing from the numbers is operating loss and net cashflow of approx -£6mm. Ok they started with £18mn in the bank at start of year. Sales division looks to be a bloodbath but it’s unclear if this is because of one offs - surely it’s making people redundant, shuting branches ,etc ? I couldn’t find the headcount analysis.

Edit- from memory I think they were adding branches going into the transaction downturn.

Problem is all this is before the possible banning of fees.

From what I am told foxtons charge a lot of fees for rentals.

[SavingBear]

5 hours ago, Fromage Frais said:

Problem is all this is before the possible banning of fees.

From what I am told foxtons charge a lot of fees for rentals.

Possible!! They better bloody well had, dragged it out for long enough now. 

My pitchfork is sharpened and ready.

[Slimline]

Rocketed today!

[rantnrave]

Foxtons shutting flagship Park Lane branch

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/eye-newsflash-foxtons-shutting-flagship-park-lane-branch/

Foxtons is closing its flagship central London office in Park Lane.

The Mayfair branch, in one  of London’s swankiest addresses, is rumoured to cost some £2m in rent a year. Staff will be re-locating from the office, a neighbour of London’s most famous hotels, to Marylebone.

This morning a Foxtons spokesperson confirmed to EYE: “At Foxtons, we believe it’s the service we deliver that makes Foxtons the best place to buy, sell, let or rent a property.

“That’s why we’re dedicated to setting the standard for the property industry, and always looking for new ways to serve our customers better.   We recently launched a new Foxtons Prime sales and lettings team focused on providing a bespoke service for high-net-worth individuals and their £3m+ properties.

“The team will be moving from their dedicated offices in Park Lane to our flagship Marylebone office to join up with our other services. The team will continue to cover Mayfair and the rest of Prime Central London whilst also working across our network of 65 branches in Greater London.”

Foxtons has been hard hit by the downturn in the London market. In July this year it posted a pre-tax loss for the first six months of  £2.5m, down from a profit of £3.8m for the same period in 2017.

Park Lane and Mayfair are  the most famous addresses on the Monopoly board.

The Park Lane office of Foxtons was considered so emblematic, that it was made the destination for the notorious easyProperty ‘funeral’ march, when the online agent made a show of its belief that high street agents were a dying breed.

[Trump Invective]

On 08/10/2018 at 10:30, rantnrave said:

Park Lane and Mayfair are  the most famous addresses on the Monopoly board.

Is this journalism?