The American offshoot of upmarket estate agency chain Foxtons has hit run into trouble as a result of the collapse of the US housing market. The Daily Telegraph

Foxtons North America, which is majority-owned by property entrepreneur Jon Hunt, is considering filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

It has axed 350 of its 380 staff and is winding up sales and rentals in New York and New Jersey

Hunt sold the separately held Foxtons UK to private equity house BC Partners in May for £390m, personally netting 97% of the proceeds.

Hunt had hoped to expand the US business, using its franchise in the New York area as a springboard to other states. However, the US housing market is now on its knees.

‘There comes a point when you can’t stand in the way of a hurricane, and it is a property hurricane that we are facing,’ said John Blomquist, general counsel of Foxtons North America. ‘The company no longer has the liquidity to operate as a going concern.’