Marsh & Parsons is now “outperforming” Foxtons in terms of revenue growth in the London market, according to a comparative analysis undertaken by City investment consultancy Jefferies.
LSL Property Services, which includes M&P, reported to the City yesterday and in line with many publicly-quoted agencies in recent days, it recorded high sales transactions in the first quarter of 2016 as buyers were attempting to beat the stamp duty surcharge deadline.
LSL’s group revenue was up 16.9 per cent year on year, with much of the growth as the surcharge deadline neared, but Jefferies is particularly impressed with Marsh & Parsons.
“M&P outperforming Foxtons. Revenue growth at M&P (36.3%) was ahead of the growth delivered by Foxtons, which was up 16.2%, and ahead of the overall market, perhaps reflecting the earlier stage of M&P's (plenty of white space in zones 1 and 2) roll out compared to Foxtons (increasing focus on zones 3-5)” was how Jefferies analysts Anthony Codling and Sam Cullen expressed it in a note to investors.
Jefferies says that LSL, the second largest estate agency in the UK, “has the ambition to grow operating profit per branch from £46,000 to between £80,000 and £100,000 [and] to take its London-based Marsh & Parsons business from 25 to 35 branches and to continue to grow its lettings division via acquisition.”
However, the analysts warn - in line with agents earlier this week - that the second quarter of the residential sales year may be tough because of EU Referendum uncertainty.
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Foxtons is still being shorted by share investors, they expect it to fail. With house prices crashing in central London and fanning out there isn't enough business to keep them going in present form. With the far east economic meltdown, Russian sanctions and action on tax haven company's after the Panama papers the money is drying up and central London prices will continue to fall.
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