The deal, which is subject to approval by the Financial Services Authority, will see owner Jon Hunt leave the company, apparently to concentrate on building a similar estate agency chain in the US. Current chief executive, Michael Brown, will retain his role under the new owners.
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In a statement, Hunt said: “Foxtons and Alexander Hall are great businesses. They have grown rapidly and have enormous further potential, because of the quality and depth of the whole employee and management team, the culture of commitment to the customer and the operating systems and marketing database we have built.”
However, it is rumoured that Hunt chose to get out of the market now as he believed a slowdown was iminent.
But Andy Pratt, chief operations officer at Alexander Hall, insisted any rumours about Hunt’s reasoning had a ‘level of mischief’ behind them and BC Partners had an appetite for growth to match the company’s ambitions.
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“The acquisition is a confirmation of the business model we have in place and the strong growth potential there is. We have significant plans to grow the business in London and the Home Counties and BC Partners supports this. Obviously, you can’t sell a business without a buyer and BC Partners’ decision to acquire the business shows a firm commitment that the London market remains strong and the long-term fundamentals of the market remain good.”
