THE TIPSTER March 21, 2010 THIS week the focus will be on Wednesday’s Budget and its political ramifications for the upcoming general election. The Labour Party will have been given a boost by last week’s encouraging public finances and Lloyds Banking Group’s announcement on Friday that it expects to turn a profit this year. But is it too little, too [...]
Liberty unveils demerger as profits tumble March 9, 2010 LIBERTY International will split its retail and commercial property businesses in a bid to “achieve greater value for shareholders.” The shopping centres arm of the business will become a real estate investment trust (REIT) called Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) with a market cap of around £2bn. And its London based portfolio will become Capital & [...]
You should shop elsewhere March 9, 2010 LIBERTY didn’t suffer as much as rivals during the recession, which is why it isn’t bouncing back quite so energetically. Consensus forecast for net asset value (NAV) per share was between 480p and 500p, but those expectations were always too high. That said, even the bears were disappointed by the actual NAV per share of [...]
Housebuilders are still a risky bet February 24, 2010 DURING his election campaign, President Barack Obama told voters that America could “build itself out of recession”. That’s just what the housebuilders are hoping they can do. Barratt Developments was putting a brave face on it yesterday, as it reported higher operating margins and strong forward sales. Galliford Try and Kier Group were also cheery. [...]
Bellway urges caution over housebuilding February 5, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway today said it remains cautious over the prospects for the housing market despite a modest pick-up in sales in first-half trading. The Newcastle-based group sold 2,247 homes in the six months to the end of January, up 12 per cent on the previous year. Its order book stood at £390 million or 2,506 [...]
FULL-YEAR TRADING UPDATE INTERVIEWS January 7, 2010 IMRAN AKRAM | COLLINS STEWART “Persimmon is the first housebuilder to report a solid trading update. Volumes were 12 per cent lower year-on-year but picked up in the second half of last year. Net debt was better than expected. Bovis and TaylorWimpey are our top picks but we continue to see upside to our target [...]
BARRATT BEATS THE BLUES November 4, 2009 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt yesterday said there had been a 92.3 per cent shareholder take-up of its £720m rights issue, strengthening signs of appetite returning to the housing sector. Barratt follows in the footsteps of rivals Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group and Bellway which have all launched cash calls in the slump.
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 25, 2009 BELLWAYKBC Peel Hunt says that Bellway played both the upswing and the downswing better than its competitors, but still issued a “Sell” recommendation for the home construction company. It says valuations have been based on the wrong metric and it cannot justify the current share price. It has set a target price of 600p. NESTLEDespite [...]
Bellway looks on bright side as profits fall October 13, 2009 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway has said it is well positioned for the future, despite the fact it saw an 82 per cent fall in full-year profits last year. The group said its pre-tax profits in the year to end-July were £29.8m, compared to £165.7m in the previous year, but this was slightly ahead of market expectations. Including [...]
Attention turns to the pub as leisure sector steps out October 11, 2009 This week will give us a glimpse of how consumers are spending their time, with Whitbread, Punch Taverns and PartyGaming all reporting. But it will be opinion-polling firm YouGov that gets a reaction from investors today, as it reports its full-year results. The company said in July that it was beginning to see the benefits [...]