Foxtons has reported a 6% fall in third-quarter revenue to £45.9 million, down from £49 million a year earlier, as the Renters' Rights Act disrupted its lettings business and higher mortgage costs weighed on property sales.

Lettings revenue, the London-listed estate agency group's largest division, fell 7% to £31.1 million in the three months to September. The company said £2.7 million of that drop came from elevated tenant-led early terminations after the Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026, allowing tenants to end a tenancy on two months' notice.

Disruption easing, Foxtons says

Across the first nine months of 2026 the impact of early terminations reached £5.7 million, with the highest level in May and June. Foxtons said terminations eased throughout the third quarter and into October, suggesting the disruption is a short-term transition. Year-to-date lettings revenue fell 3% to £85.8 million, although before the impact of terminations it was marginally ahead year on year.

Sales revenue fell 5% in the quarter to £12 million, with average revenue per transaction down 8% as higher mortgage rates pushed buyers towards lower-value homes. Financial services revenue fell 7% to £2.9 million in the quarter, although it is up 9% over the nine months at £8.3 million.

Chief executive Guy Gittins said lettings had traded broadly in line with expectations and re-letting activity remained robust. The group kept its full-year adjusted operating profit guidance of £17 million to £19 million, set in July. Foxtons completed four acquisitions in September, expanding in Birmingham, Watford and Reading, and said its cost reduction programme had delivered £4.5 million in annualised savings.