Foxtons

Mar 16, 2022

March 16, 2022 - Advertisement - Foxtons Group PLC was urged Wednesday by activist investor Converium Capital to sell itself to realize value for shareholders, saying it has failed to take advantage of the London property market rebound following Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian investment company said in a public letter to the UK real-estate agency that it believes operational underperformance and poor capital allocation have led to a depressed share price. Converium currently holds around 2% of Foxtons’ issued share capital, a Wall Street Journal reporter has confirmed. - Advertisement - Foxtons didn’t respond to a request for comment. Foxtons shares have fallen 49% in the 12 months to date, and 85% since its IPO in 2013 at 230 pence ($3) a share. Peers M Winkworth PLC and Savills PLC are up 7.8% and 8.6% respectively in the 12 months to date. “Converium believes that the better path for Foxtons is to pursue a formal process to sell itself, and we believe that in a sale Foxtons should command a significant premium over today’s depressed share price,” the investment firm said, adding it estimates the estate agency could yield a sale price of 80 pence to 100 pence a share. The investor added Foxtons’ shares are trading at around the same price as in the height of the coronavirus pandemic, despite higher revenue and profit than the three years preceding the pandemic. It stated that other investors also lack confidence in the company’s ability to deliver acceptable financial returns. Shares in Foxtons at 1353 GMT were up 2.75 pence, or 8.8% at 34.25 pence. Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph. [email protected] ,