Barratt shares rise on strong forward sales despite Covid-19 hit September 2, 2020 Shares in Barratt Developments rose today as it announced strong forward sales despite taking a hit from the coronavirus lockdown. Forward sales at 23 August stood at 15,660 homes valued at £3.7bn, compared to 13,064 homes valued at £3bn last August. Barratt shares rose 5.7 per cent to 532p this morning. The company today scrapped [...]
UK housebuilder stocks surge on Help to Buy extension reports July 28, 2020 UK housebuilder stocks surged this morning on reports that the government is preparing to extend the Help to Buy scheme. Barratt Developments’ share price was up 5.07 per cent and Berkeley Group’s shares jumped 4.07 per cent this morning. Taylor Wimpey’s share price increased 3.29 per cent and Persimmon’s stock was up 4.06 per cent. [...]
Stamp duty holiday: Housebuilder and estate agent stocks jump July 8, 2020 Housebuilders and estate agent stocks jumped this afternoon after the chancellor announced a stamp duty holiday in a bid to get the UK property market moving. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the stamp duty threshold would increase from £125,000 to £500,000 until March next year to boost activity after the coronavirus lockdown. He said it [...]
Markets live: Nasdaq hits record intraday high as FTSE 100 rallies on recovery hopes July 6, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stock markets rose sharply today as investors cheered the prospect of more stimulus for the UK economy and followed the lead of Asian markets. London’s index of blue-chip companies was 1.87 per cent higher this afternoon at 6,2572.5 points. The FTSE 250 index of slightly smaller firms rose 1.27 per [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks fall on fears of coronavirus second wave May 13, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stocks have fallen as fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections spook traders and US-China tensions rise over the pandemic. The UK’s blue-chip stock index was 1.2 per cent lower in afternoon trading. This took the FTSE 100 below the 6,000 mark which it passed yesterday for only the [...]
Property stocks jump as restrictions on UK housing market ease May 13, 2020 Estate agent and housebuilder stocks soared this morning after the government last night loosened lockdown restrictions on the UK housing market. Shares in London estate agent Foxtons surged 8.31 per cent to 43.65p and online platform Purplebricks’ stock soared 11 per cent to 37.86p. LSL Property Services, the owner of Your Move and Reeds Rains, [...]
Coronavirus: UK construction sector grinds to a halt in worst month on record May 6, 2020 UK construction sector activity juddered to a halt in April, survey data has shown, as coronavirus lockdown measures pushed the industry to its worst month on record. The IHS Markit/Cips construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a gauge of the health of the sector, plunged to an all-time low of 8.2 in April from 39.3 in [...]
Barratt Developments to restart construction work this month May 1, 2020 Housebuilder Barratt Developments will restart work on construction sites this month after temporarily closing operations during the coronavirus lockdown. Work to implement social distancing measures will begin on 11 May, after which Barratt will restart building work across 180 of its construction sites, representing 50 per cent of its sites. The developer this morning said [...]
Coronavirus: Barratt Developments furloughs 85 per cent of staff April 16, 2020 Housebuilder Barratt Developments today announced it has temporarily laid off 85 per cent of its staff through the government coronavirus job retention scheme. Furloughed employees will receive full pay until at least the end of next month, the company said this morning. The developer also said both the executive and non-executive teams had agreed to [...]
Coronavirus dividend cuts produce £4.4bn hit to investor portfolios March 27, 2020 With more UK firms announcing coronavirus-fuelled dividend cuts this week, the total loss of investor income so far this year is now £4.4bn. The pace of dividend cuts is accelerating as coronavirus wreaks havoc on world economies. In March 116 companies have suspended their dividends totalling £4.2bn, according to investment fund AJ Bell. That compares [...]