Foxtons’ share price dropped by 18% in the first few minutes of trading this morning after it issued a profit warning.
The London estate agency said in a trading update that a forecast “upturn” during the second half of this year is now “unlikely to materialise” following the EU referendum result.
Chief executive Nic Budden said: “While we had a strong start to the year, we said in our Q1 update that we expected the first half to be challenging ahead of the EU referendum.
“Since then recent sales volumes have been slow as uncertainty and higher stamp duty have led many buyers and sellers to sit on their hands.
“The result of the referendum has increased uncertainty and is likely to mean that these trends continue for at least the remainder of the year.”
Foxtons’s revenue for the first quarter of the year was £38.4m – a 16.2% increase on Q1 2015.
However, the group said that it now expected full year 2016 revenues and profits to be “significantly lower” than 2015.
Budden said the group remained confident in the demand for houses in London and in the group’s strategy to focus on the capital’s mid-market segment.
“Furthermore, our strong lettings business provides strong downside protection,” he said.
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