Foxtons


Foxtons Group plc is a British estate agency company dealing with both lettings and sales. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

History

Foxtons was founded by Jon Hunt in 1981 in Notting Hill, London, as a two-person estate agency.
2001 saw the launch of promotionally branded Minis, bearing the Foxtons logo.
Foxtons was acquired by private equity firm BC Partners in 2007 for £390m.
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.
On 27 August 2013, Foxtons unveiled its flotation on the London Stock Exchange to raise £55m from private investors.
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.

Controversies

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.
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.

Operations

Foxtons has 67 offices. It is a member of The Property Ombudsman, The National Association of Estate Agents , The Association of Residential Letting
Agents ,
and the National Approved Letting Scheme. Foxtons is also a founding member of the Safe Agent Fully Endorsed client money protection scheme as well as Tenancy Deposit Scheme.