Foxtons was more popular in the City than in Elephant and Castle today, after the aggressive estate agent said it was bouncing back from a tough sales market before May’s general election.
The agent last week saw anti-gentrification squatters evicted after a month-long occupation at a former south London pub where it was planning a new branch.
But Foxtons remained upbeat about its prospects in London, and said property sales have picked up since the Conservative election win which removed the threat of a mansion tax.
Investors welcomed the update and Foxtons was propelled to the top of the FTSE 250 leader board, up 15.8p to 238.8p.
Turnover at the company dipped 2.3% to £71.1 million in the six months to June 30. Pre-tax profit fell to £18.1 million from £23.1 million.
It was hit by a wider market trend of nervous buyers shying away from luxury homes in the capital. However, the company did see a rise in lettings revenue.
Chief executive Nick Budden said the market had been “challenging”, but added: “With the election uncertainty now passed we have seen an increase in activity.”
During the same six months, underlying profit at online property firm Rightmove jumped more than £10 million to £70.3 million.
It was helped by the launch of a new school-checker app that has already been viewed 15 million times.
Despite the election hitting London, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said UK wide it “saw a very stable and solid housing market” in the six months to June 28. Revenue rose to over £1.3 billion.
The mortgage approval rate rose to 66,582 in June, Bank of England figures showed today. The value of mortgages extended was £2.6 billion — the highest since 2008.
