Press Article: Morning Money23 Jul 2014 13:35
The story of an incredibly effective estate agent
Foxtons was founded by ex-army man Jon Hunt. I remember meeting him around 1994. He turned up at a friend’s house in a red Ferrari.
With a rugby player’s physique and a flash suit, he was nothing if not determined. And he had the confidence to do things differently. He offered my friend, who was born to be an estate agent, the job of managing the Notting Hill branch. Hunt didn’t care that he was just 22.
Hunt founded Foxtons in 1981, with £30,000 from school friend Anthony Pelligrini. He was 28. The company started with a two-man office in Notting Hill. And as luck would have it, 1981 was not far off the bottom of the market.
Straight away, Hunt set about doing things differently. Foxtons offered 0% commission to attract custom from other agents. Staff worked longer hours – nine till nine and at weekends – meaning properties could be viewed in the early evenings on weekdays and at weekends.
In 1983 a second office opened in Fulham and in 1986, a third in South Kensington.
Then came the property crash of 1989 to 1992. The company barely survived. “We were close to going bust every day”, said Hunt. The experience encouraged him to expand the company into lettings, to ensure some income in any future downturns.
With great timing once again, Hunt began opening more offices, starting with Chiswick in 1992. The company continued to grow through the 1990s.
Whatever you might think of it, Foxtons has always innovated. It started with the longer hours and 0% commission in the first three months of an office opening in a new area.
Then there was the distinctive branding (the first ‘F’ logo came in 1991), not to mention the dramatic improvements in the ways property was presented on paper. The photography, the write-ups, the brochures, the magazines – Foxtons has consistently taken property porn to new levels.
It was one of the first agencies to embrace the internet in 1999. It was the first to do 360° virtual tours. The branded cars (love them or loathe them, they stand out), the café offices, the persistent, commission-hungry sales force, the websites, the apps – it never stops.
Where Foxtons led, other agencies followed. In many ways, it has forced improved practice on the whole sector. Yet the company is not loved – far from it. Why is that?
Sellers are in the minority – but they’re the ones Foxtons appeals to
London has, for the past 35 years, been a sellers’ market. There have been a few exceptions - 1989-93 and 2008-09 – but that’s it. And Foxtons has always appealed to the seller.
I don’t know about you, but I’d have no hesitation in selling my house through Foxtons (they’ll probably get me a better price). But buying one through them? Ugh.
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