Foxtons posts lower profit as London prime property market cools

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - British estate agent Foxtons posted a fall in profit last year as the firm said the London property market was taking longer than expected to recover from a slowdown following the May general election.

Pre (Shanghai: 600048.SS - news) -tax profit fell 2.6 percent to 41 million pounds ($58.46 million), lower than the average of 42.3 million pounds forecast by a Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) poll of five analysts.

Foxtons, which has become a symbol of the capital's property boom when it floated in September 2013, warned last year that prices in central London were taking time to recover, with data showing asking prices fell in some of the most expensive areas such as Knightsbridge.

($1 = 0.7013 pounds) (Reporting By Costas Pitas; editing by Sarah Young)