Foxtons founder prospers as landlord to wealthy businesses

Accounts just filed for Heven – the parent of his real estate operation Ocubis – show turnover rose 21% last year to £23.9m

(PA)

Jon Hunt, the property billionaire who founded and sold the estate agency chain Foxtons, is banking on wealthy businesses paying big rents to boost revenues further at the property company that he now owns.

Accounts just filed for Heven – the parent of his real estate operation Ocubis – show turnover rose 21 per cent last year to £23.9m.

Pre-tax profits in 2014 reached £3m, up from £1.6m the year before, while staff numbers rose to 82 from 61.

Heven was set up in 2007, the same year in which Foxtons, which is known for its aggressive sales tactics, was sold by Mr Hunt for £375m. The sale came just before the credit crunch and the slump in the property market.

Ocubis typically buys commercial and residential buildings, including offices and homes in London, and revamps them to add value.

A spokesman for the company said: “Occupancy rates across the portfolio have continued to improve as a result of completed refurbishments being delivered into a strong leasing market.”

The company bought three properties in London last year, one of which, in the St James’s area, will be unveiled following a makeover.

Property sources said rents of £160 per sq ft would be sought for the office building at 5 St James’s Square, making it among the most expensive in the centre of the capital.

Nestled between the offices of the mining giant Rio Tinto and the famous In and Out Club, the 16,000 sq ft property includes Georgian features and chandeliers.

Demand for office space, coupled with a shortage of supply in central London, has resulted in a number of businesses paying more than £150 per sq ft recently.

The company’s strategic report said: “The directors consider that London’s position as a global financial and trading hub will maintain an acceptable level of occupational and investor demand... throughout most normal economic cycles.”

So far this year, disposals include an office building in London’s Holborn for around £80m to a private Middle Eastern investor.

Ocubis has also unveiled plans for around 170 homes on the Albert Embankment.