MARKET REPORT: Foxtons boosted as buyers rush to dodge stamp duty hike

The housing market has sprung back into life as first-time buyers rush to complete deals before an increase in stamp duty this spring.

And that spells good news for estate agent Foxtons.

The business said it started 2025 with more houses under offer than at any New Year since 2016 – before the Brexit vote.

Foxtons noted strong demand among first-time buyers before stamp duty goes up in April in what amounts to another tax hike under Labour.

At present, no one pays stamp duty on the first £250,000 of a home, while the allowance for first-time buyers is £425,000.

But in last year’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said stamp duty would kick-in at £125,000 from April 1 and cut the threshold for first-time buyers to £300,000.

‘We enter 2025 with optimism,’ said Foxtons boss Guy Gittins. ‘We start the year with the highest opening under-offer pipeline since the Brexit vote in 2016.’

With the lettings business also performing well, Foxtons said revenues rose 11 per cent last year to £163million while profits were around a third higher at £19million. Foxtons shares rose 1.5 per cent, or 1p, to 67p.

Big tech and the emergence of Chinese AI disrupter DeepSeek was the talk of trading floors across the City and Wall Street once again yesterday.

And with Nvidia clawing back some of its losses from Monday, the FTSE 100 edged up 0.35 per cent, or 30.16 points, to 8533.87 and the FTSE 250 advanced 1.08 per cent, or 219.01 points, to 20,588.51.

Advertising guru Sir Martin Sorrell had reason to cheer as shares in his company S4 Capital jumped 7.6pc, or 2.54p, to 36.02p.

The rally came after the firm said revenues and profits for 2024 look to have been ‘slightly above’ the £746million and £84million expected by City analysts. Shares remain down more than 90 per cent since their peak in 2021, however.

Back in the top flight, pest control group Rentokil Initial reported a 3 per cent rise in fourth quarter revenues as business picked up in North America.

It also announced the departure of Brad Paulsen, its chief executive in the region, but investors took it in their stride and shares crept up 0.8 per cent, or 2.9p, to 389.8p.

BAE Systems added 0.6 per cent, or 7.5p, to 1251p after it won a £285million contract from the Ministry of Defence to upgrade its Royal Navy combat systems.

Among the mid-caps, soft drinks maker AG Barr fizzed 6.7 per cent, or 39p higher, to 622p after it said revenues for its financial year to last weekend rose 5 per cent to £420million.

Technology provider Computacenter shot up 7.4 per cent, or 156p, to 2268p after it said the second half of last year was the ‘most profitable half year in its history’.

SSP, the owner of baguette chain Upper Crust, also found itself on the front foot, rising 4.4 per cent, or 7.5p, to 178.9p after it reported a 14 per cent rise in first quarter sales.

But engineering giant Smiths Group dipped 2 per cent, or 38p, to 1845p after the airport scanners maker was hit by a cyber attack that ‘involved unauthorised access’ to its systems.