Foxtons Group, London’s leading estate agency, has announced the appointment of Nigel Rich CBE as its new Chairman.

Mr Rich will replace the group’s Chairman of eight years, Ian Barlow who has been under heavy fire from investors in recent month over company salaries and dividend payments. Nigel Rich will be paid £150,000 per annum, of which, £50,000 will be paid in shares according to a company statement.

Ian Barlow commented on the handover, saying “Nigel is an excellent appointment and I am delighted we have secured someone with his capability and experience. It has, over the past eight years, been a great privilege to serve on the Board of Foxtons, a prominent London business with a great future.”

The news comes after relations between the Group and its investors deteriorated during the pandemic. In April nearly 40 per cent of shareholders voted against executive pay packages, following the estate agent’s decision to award CEO Nic Budden almost £1m in bonuses for the year.

Jeremy Hosking, the boss of Foxtons’ biggest investor, wrote to chairman Ian Barlow to outline his dissatisfaction that the company’s share price, which stands at about 52p, having fallen from around 94p per share before the pandemic. He was also unimpressed by pay at the estate agent.

In a nod to shareholders’ concerns Nigel Rich said, “I look forward to working with the management team to accelerate Foxtons’ recovery and returns to shareholders.”

In spite of the drama with investors Foxtons saw record revenue of £66.9m in the first six months of 2021 and treated shareholders to a dividend payment of 0.18p per share.

Read more:Foxtons faces yet another investor revolt over executive pay and share price