ESTATE agent Foxtons has hired merger and acquisition bankers from Rothschild amid growing pressure from shareholders to sell itself for £160m by the end of the year.

The move, first reported by The Times, comes after its largest shareholders have publicly called on the board to find a buyer.

Canadian investor Converium Capital, which owns about 5.3 per cent of the business, and UK-based Milkwood Capital, which owns 5 per cent, have both said they want Foxtons to find a buyer for the business.

The boss of Milkwood Capital said last November the only way to "extract fair value is for the board to carry out a sale process".

Rhys Summerton, told The Sunday Times: "In 2015, Foxtons was a £1bn company, but the public markets are no longer valuing the good work the management has done recently and the only way to extract fair value is for the board to carry out a sale process."

A spokesperson for Foxtons told City A.M.: "Foxtons Group has a retained financial adviser."

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