Martin & Co looks set to outdo Foxtons on the stock market

If you were a punter on the stock market, which shares would you have picked two years ago – Martin & Co or Foxtons?

Both launched on the stock market in 2013 within weeks of each other.

At that point, you could have bought Martin & Co shares at 100p and Foxtons for 230p.

Martin & Co’s shares hit a peak this week, doubling the 100p when it launched on AIM.

By contrast, Foxtons’ shares are lagging well below their launch price and are now just below 200p.

Curiously, none of the analysts’ comments we have seen draw attention to any online agents.

Martin & Co originally listed at a valuation of £18m plus £4m new money, giving the franchise agency business a market capitalisation of £22m.

Exactly one year ago it bought Xperience for £5m, with half debt and half cash.

The firm this week attained a market capitalisation of £43m. It has been making steady progress and was tipped in August by the Daily Mail as a “strong hold”.

It recently rebranded to trade as The Property Franchise Group, reflecting the fact that Martin & Co is now just one of its brands.

The firm has ambitious plans to triple in size over the next few years and is known to be looking for more acquisitions.

Chief executive Ian Wilson said: “We ran a capital markets day in the City last week and people seemed to like the story of a franchise model with multiple high-quality established property brands all run from the same cost base.”

In contrast, Foxtons has undergone a bruising week on London’s main stock exchange after analysts at bank Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and downgraded its earnings per share forecast.

The downgrade followed Foxtons’ trading update last week.

Although Foxtons’ revenue grew in the third quarter, the firm said that the London sales market was slow and unlikely to recover quickly.

It also said that tenants were staying longer.

The firm has added seven new branches this year, with further expansion planned.

Citi analyst Christopher McVey said: “We reduce our estimates and price target to account for recent volume trends as well as reiterating our cautious stance on London market dynamics.

“We also suggest there is limited evidence of underlying market share growth by Foxtons, despite rapid store-based expansion.”

He added that Foxtons’ shares are trading at a premium compared with its peers – for example, Countrywide, LSL and Savills.

Foxtons shares sank to a seven-month low on Wednesday at 196p – below the 230p price at its stock market debut in 2013.

Its shares hit a 52-week high in May of 289p after hitting a low last November of 142.70p

Yesterday, Foxtons’ share price closed at around 198p.

Martin & Co shares finished at an almost identical price of around 197p.

Originally posted here.

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