Estate agent Foxtons furloughs 750 employees, slashes pay and taps investors for £22m as commissions cut in half by lockdown

The FTSE 250-listed firm famous for the Mini Coopers driven by its sales teams said it has furloughed 750 employees, with 'the vast majority' receiving 80 per cent of their salaries, while another 350 staff are working from home. Chief executive Nic Budden said: 'The London property market has been severely disrupted by the necessary measures the country has taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.ch 'Prior to the lockdown, Foxtons' trading in 2020 had been in line with the board's expectations and we started the year in a strong financial position, with a cash balance of over £15million and no external borrowings and a growing sales commission pipeline.' However Foxtons, which closed down four branches at the end of last year, had already been hit by a 'challenging' 2019, as Brexit uncertainty cut its revenues from house sales and the tenant fees ban ate into its rental income.