Foxtons has announced plans to open 20 new branches over the next three years.

The residential agency suffered a loss of £900,000 last year but pre-tax profits for the first half of 2010 showed a recovery to £16.7m.

Michael Brown, chief executive, said: “We are heading for a good financial year again, with both our sales and lettings performing strongly. The signs are that we are increasing market share with our existing branches.

“We see a good deal of organic growth potential and we are actively opening new offices to expand into London areas we’ve not been in before.”