Foxtons to pay special dividend after earnings hike

LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - London-focused estate agency Foxtons said on Wednesday it would pay a special dividend after reporting a 29 percent rise in first-half core earnings due to higher sales and mortgage volumes.

Foxtons, which returned to London's stock market in September last year, posted core earnings of 24.9 million pounds ($41.2 million), enabling it to pay an interim dividend and special dividend totalling 12.8 million pounds.

The group cautioned, however, that it expected to see a slow down in the rapid rate of transactions in the second half of the year, due to government measures aimed at controlling mortgage lending.

($1 = 0.6040 British Pounds) (Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Karolin Schaps)