London estate agent Dexters to hoist £500m 'for sale' sign

The backstage equity backers of London's biggest property bureau concatenation are exploring a imaginable merchantability valuing it astatine much than £500m, contempt the looming menace of Rachel Reeves' caller "mansion tax".

Sky News has learnt that Oakley Capital, which acquired a bulk involvement successful Dexters successful 2021, is adjacent to hiring concern bankers to measure options for monetising its concern successful the group.

Dexters, which has scores of offices crossed the capital, including astir 40 successful Central London, was founded successful 1993 by Jeff Doble.

The institution is present tally by main enforcement Andy Shepherd and chaired by Justin King, the erstwhile J Sainsbury brag who present chairs Allwyn, the National Lottery operator.

In the twelvemonth to September 30, 2024 - the past play for which accounts person been filed astatine Companies House - Dexters London reported underlying operating nett of much than £47m, up from conscionable implicit £40m successful the erstwhile year.

It recorded gross during the much caller play of astir £222m, fuelled by acquisitions and a increasing marketplace share.

Lettings accounted for adjacent to two-thirds of the company's full revenue.

This weekend, banking sources said that Barclays was being lined up to counsel connected a imaginable merchantability of Dexters, though it was unclear whether it had been formally mandated yet.

The sources added that the process was astatine a precise preliminary stage, with nary decisions taken astir the timing oregon operation of immoderate process.

They suggested, however, that a valuation of betwixt £500m and £600m was realistic.

News of the imaginable merchantability comes conscionable six weeks aft Chancellor Ms Reeves confirmed plans for a taxation connected homes worthy much than £2m, with a recurring levy to beryllium imposed from 2028.

Oakley Capital has backed salient British businesses including the hospitality and media radical Time Out and Thomas's London Day Schools, wherever a fig of members of the royal household person been educated.

It precocious announced the acquisition of a involvement successful Athena Racing, the British America's Cup squad led by Sir Ben Ainslie, the decorated Olympian.

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The backstage equity firm, headed by Peter Dubens, was reported to person invested £130m successful Dexters successful 2021, providing the institution with a warfare thorax to unfastened caller offices and marque acquisitions.

Since then, it has snapped up rivals including the London property cause Marsh & Parsons and LiFE Residential.

Industry sources said that Oakley owned a astir 60pc involvement successful Dexters.

If it achieved a valuation successful excess of £500m from a sale, that would marque it worthy importantly much than rival Foxtons, which is listed connected the London Stock Exchange.

Shares successful Foxtons person fallen by much than 15% implicit the past year, leaving it with a marketplace capitalisation of astir £175m.

Estate bureau groups person mostly had a mediocre tally connected the nationalist markets successful London, with Countrywide agreeing to a £130m takeover by rival Connells successful 2021 pursuing a fig of nett warnings.

The prospective merchantability of Dexters comes during a slowdown successful the wider UK lodging market, with location prices crossed the state rising past twelvemonth by conscionable 0.6%.

London saw a 0.7% emergence successful the last 4th of the year, according to Nationwide, whose main economist, Robert Gardner, said: "Despite the softer extremity to the year, the connection that champion describes the lodging marketplace successful 2025 wide is 'resilient'."

The assignment of bankers astatine Dexters comes months aft LRG, 1 of the UK's biggest property bureau groups, hired Rothschild to research plans for an £800m sale.

Oakley Capital declined to comment, portion Dexters has been contacted for comment.