Foxtons has within the past few minutes provided an update on trading for the year ended 31 December 2025, together with the acquisition of Cauldwell, expanding its presence into the commuter town of Milton Keynes and further advancing the Group’s growth strategy.
In the announcement to the City, the group says lettings contributed c.64% of total revenue, with strong margins delivering earnings stability despite sales market volatility.
The company has also appointed a new managing director of sales in December 2025, with a view to driving revenue growth and improving profitability. James Stevenson brings 20 years’ Foxtons experience and a track record of driving growth.
Also, reflecting on the past year, the group refers to its HQ relocation completing, This is expected to enhance collaboration across key functions alongside delivering c.£1.5m annual operating cost savings from January 2026, partly mitigating the impact of higher national insurance costs and general inflationary pressures.
Foxtons says it has also committed further investment in people and culture. Launched our “Getting It Done. Together” framework, aligning all elements of the Group’s people strategy and building on the work to date to foster a respectful, rewarding, and inspiring workplace which delivers an enhanced experience for all stakeholders.
Formed an exclusive partnership with IAG Loyalty, making Foxtons the only UK estate agent through which customers can collect Avios, aimed at attracting landlords, rewarding loyalty, and driving adoption of high-margin services.
Foxtons returned £5.5m to shareholders via two share buyback programmes, alongside £3.6m of dividends, in line with the group’s capital allocation policy.
The company also increased the size of the Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) to £40m, from £30m, to support the acquisition strategy and working capital requirements. All other terms of the RCF remain unchanged.
2025 trading review (unaudited)
Total revenue for the full year was c.£172m, up c.5% versus the prior year (2024: £163.9m). Adjusted operating profit of c.£22m (2024: £22.1m1) as the group strategically maintained sales headcount to preserve bench strength, positioning itself for expected market stabilisation in 2026.
Lettings revenue increased by c.5%, driven by incremental revenue from acquisitions and broadly flat like-for-like revenues. Operating margins were maintained, despite lower interest on client monies, through a continued focus on growing higher margin revenues, such as property management services.
Sales revenue increased by c.5%, with incremental revenues from acquisitions offsetting a like-for-like revenue decline of c.2%. The group delivered particularly strong Q1 2025 revenues ahead of the March stamp duty holiday, after which activity slowed, with the second half impacted by a much-publicised slowdown in the market leading up to the Autumn Budget alongside broader economic uncertainty.
Financial Services revenue was up c.10%, driven by higher levels of refinance opportunities alongside growth in new purchase mortgages revenues reflecting operational upgrades to improve productivity and increased connectivity with estate agency operations.
The Group’s net debt at year end was c.£17m (31 Dec 2024: £12.7m) as improved net free cash flow3 was more than offset by £5.3m of acquisition spend and £9.1m of shareholder returns (buybacks and dividends).
Acquisition of Cauldwell
On 7 January 2026, the group completed the acquisition of Cauldwell, an independent agent in Milton Keynes, for a total enterprise value of £6.5m on a cash and debt-free basis, of which £0.8m is deferred for 12 months and contingent on performance targets being met. Cauldwell’s unaudited total revenue and operating profit for the 12 months ended 30 November 2025 was £3.1m and £0.8m, respectively. Approximately two-thirds of total revenue is attributable to Lettings.
Foxtons says the acquisition delivers progress against the group’s strategy to acquire high-quality, non-cyclical and earnings-accretive lettings businesses to enhance the Group’s portfolio of recurring revenues. The acquisition also delivers progress against the group’s strategy to expand into London’s commuter towns to unlock growth opportunities in new regions.
The acquisition will serve as Foxtons’ hub in Milton Keynes and, supported by the industry-leading Foxtons Operating Platform, is expected to drive organic growth through revenue and cost synergies, alongside enabling high ROI bolt-on acquisitions. The directors of Cauldwell will remain with the business post-acquisition to lead the next stage of growth under Foxtons’ ownership.
2026 and medium-term outlook
Lettings is expected to remain resilient in 2026, supported by tenant demand and good stock levels, which underpin rental pricing and transaction volumes. The Group has a well-developed pipeline of acquisition opportunities and expects to announce further acquisitions over the course of 2026 in line with its strategy.
Sales began 2026 with a lower under-offer pipeline than the previous year, as a result of the significant sales market disruption around the Autumn Budget and a very strong comparative period in Q4 2024 (ahead of the March 2025 stamp duty deadline). Due to the lower under-offer pipeline, Q1 2026 Sales revenues will be lower than those recorded in Q1 2025. When the sales market normalises, we expect a more stable market backdrop, with transaction volumes to benefit from recent mortgage rate reductions and the release of pent-up demand.
With ongoing uncertainty around the economic outlook and buyer confidence in 2026, the group expects to deliver revenue and profit growth in the year, underpinned by non‑cyclical and recurring Lettings revenue.
Guy Gittins, CEO, Foxtons, said: “Despite economic headwinds and fiscal events creating uncertainty in our markets, the Group delivered acquisition-led revenue growth and continued to make progress against our strategy.
“We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Cauldwell, the leading independent agent in Milton Keynes, and welcome their fantastic team to Foxtons. I am also pleased to have recently appointed James Stevenson as our new Managing Director of Sales. James has a strong track record of driving growth and is well placed to deliver market share gains.
“Through continued progress against our growth strategy, and underpinned by our portfolio of high quality, recurring Lettings revenues, we are confident in our ability to grow Group revenues and profits. Our focus remains on achieving our medium‑term targets, including the delivery of £50m of adjusted operating profit.”
The Group intends to report its 2025 full year results on 5 March 2026.
