The rise in refinancing revenue helped to offset weaker new purchase activity as house sales volumes fell.
Lettings revenue was up 5% to £26.4m, reflecting a combination of organic growth, income through acquisitions and lower interest on client monies.
In its Q1 trading update, Foxtons said the decline in year-on-year sales revenue to £10.7m from £16.4m was in part down to an “exceptionally strong” performance last year, driven by a rush of business ahead of the reduction in stamp duty thresholds in April 2025. The “challenging market backdrop” in the first three months of 2026 also weighed down on sales.
£3m savings target
Consequently, the group has implemented a cost-cutting programme targeting at least £3m of annualised savings and is repositioning the sales business to maximise profits in a housing market dealing with lower transaction levels.
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To achieve the savings, Foxtons is reallocating staff towards higher growth opportunities in its lettings business, redeploying support roles into fee-earning roles to drive staff productivity, and lowering administrative costs by improving the efficiency of its workflows and processes.
Guy Gittins, chief executive, said: “The sales market remains subdued and has been further affected by recent events in the Middle East, which have tempered buyer sentiment and impacted mortgage rates and availability. As ever, Foxtons is focused on what we can control by managing costs, increasing efficiencies and repositioning our sales business to mitigate the impact of the market.
“We remain confident that the resilience of our lettings and financial services businesses, which represents more than two thirds of revenues, alongside work to reposition the sales business, can continue to deliver market-leading results for customers, growth opportunities for our people and long-term value creation for shareholders.”
