The private equity backers of London’s biggest estate agency chain are exploring a potential sale worth more than \u00a3500m. This move comes despite the looming threat of a new ‘mansion tax’ proposed by Rachel Reeves.<\/p>\n
Dexters has numerous branches across the capital, including around 40 in central London, and was founded in 1993 by Jeff Doble. The company is now led by CEO Andy Shepherd and chaired by Justin King. In the year to September 30, 2024, Dexters London reported an underlying operating profit of more than \u00a347 million, up from just over \u00a340 million a year earlier.<\/p>\n
The company recently reported sales of almost \u00a3222 million, driven by acquisitions and growing market share. Rentals accounted for almost two thirds of the company’s total sales. This significant financial performance is a testament to the company’s strength in the London property market.<\/p>\n
Banking sources have indicated that Barclays is lined up as an adviser on a possible sale of Dexters. Although the process is at a very early stage, a valuation of between \u00a3500m and \u00a3600m is considered realistic. This potential sale comes just six weeks after the announcement of plans for a tax on homes worth more than \u00a32 million.<\/p>\n
The proposed mansion tax, with a recurring levy due to apply from 2028, could potentially impact the property market. However, Oakley Capital, the private equity firm backing Dexters, seems undeterred. The firm has a history of backing well-known British companies and has invested \u00a3130 million in Dexters in 2021.<\/p>\n
If Dexters were to achieve a valuation of more than \u00a3500 million through a sale, it would be worth significantly more than its London Stock Exchange-listed competitor Foxtons. Shares in Foxtons have fallen more than 15% in the last year, giving the company a market capitalization of around \u00a3175m.<\/p>\n
The expected sale of Dexters comes during a slowdown in the wider UK property market, with house prices across the country rising just 0.6% over the past year. According to Nationwide, London saw an increase of 0.7% in the final quarter of the year. Despite the weaker end to the year, the housing market is described as ‘resilient’ by Chief Economist Robert Gardner.<\/p>\n
The appointment of bankers at Dexters to explore a potential sale marks a significant development in the company’s history. With its strong financial performance and significant presence in the London property market, Dexters is an attractive prospect for potential buyers. The outcome of this potential sale will be closely watched by the industry and investors alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Dexters’ Potential Sale The private equity backers of London’s biggest estate agency chain are exploring a potential sale worth more than \u00a3500m. This move comes despite the looming threat of a new ‘mansion tax’ proposed by Rachel Reeves. Background on Dexters Dexters has numerous branches across the capital, including around 40 in central<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[21669,3784,13594,21671,21670,649,4966,19418,1791,1784,3772,21672],"class_list":{"0":"post-29090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-andy-shepherd","9":"tag-barclays","10":"tag-earnings-before-interest-and-taxes","11":"tag-foxtons","12":"tag-justin-king-businessman","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-london-stock-exchange","15":"tag-mansion-tax","16":"tag-market-capitalization","17":"tag-private-equity","18":"tag-rachel-reeves","19":"tag-robert-gardner-anthropologist"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29092,"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29090\/revisions\/29092"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nanamedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}