Investors urge Foxtons to face up to property market slump

Estate agency Foxtons has been urged by some of its biggest shareholders to face up to the UK’s struggling property market by pursuing consolidation and halting its dividend. The London-listed firm has faced opposition from its investors on several fronts in recent months, including share buybacks, political donations and takeovers of rival estate agencies. Foxtons told shareholders on Tuesday that it has been engaging with a number of its top investors, who voted against motions on its dividend and political donations policy at its annual general meeting earlier this year. Michael Rapps, managing partner of Converium Capital, which owns about seven per cent of Foxtons, told City AM the estate agency should halt dividends and instead commit to share buyback schemes of up to £20m each year. He said: “The dividend is just not a good use of capital when your stock trades at half the multiple of all the other peers in the industry.” Rapps has also been pushing for Foxtons