BC Partners in bid to buy back controlling stake in F...

20 September 2010

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Written by rosalind renshaw

BC Partners is in talks to buy back some debt in Foxtons, the firm it bought at the height of the property market in spring 2007 for £360m.

It is the latest astonishing twist in the saga.

Less than two years after its spectacularly ill-timed purchase, BC Partners’ managing partner Andrew Newington said it had been a “wrong call” to buy the London estate agency. He said that sales volumes had fallen 75% and that banking covenants had been breached.

Last year, Foxtons failed to file its accounts on time, and at the end of the year, BC Partners lost control of the agency firm after it had to renegotiate the massive bank loans it took to fund its takeover deal.

Bank of America and Mizuho agreed to reduce the debt from about £300m to £120m in return for them becoming majority shareholders.

BC has now entered into talks with the banks to acquire some of the debts that they hold.

Earlier this month, Foxtons announced major expansion in London and Surrey, with plans to open another 20 offices – almost doubling its network in size.

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