Best of the Brokers for 21 July 2014 July 21, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BRITISH LAND COMPANY Barclays has maintained its “overweight” rating, increasing the target price to 936p from 695p. The broker believes that British Land’s underlying real estate values should continue to increase, with a spike in office rents, as well as a modest increase [...]
London Report: Yellen warning and rise in UK inflation cause FTSE to slip July 16, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares lost ground yesterday after US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen voiced concern over valuations. And housebuilders were hit by growing expectations UK interest rates would soon rise, while Imperial Tobacco fell sharply. The FTSE 100 index was down by 0.53 per cent – 35.69 points – at 6,710.45 points. Imperial Tobacco sank [...]
Barratt profits double on sales at six-year high July 10, 2014 Barratt Developments, the biggest housebuilder by volume in the UK, yesterday announced it expected annual pre-tax profits to double to around £390m, buoyed by higher demand from a strong property market. The earnings figures would be record-breaking for Barratt, beating analyst forecasts and up from £192m in 2013. The forecast comes as the group saw [...]
Barratt Developments expects to build strong profit growth July 10, 2014 Housebuilder Barratt Developments has continued the trend of construction companies predicting increases in pre-tax profits, completions and average sales price. Like Bovis Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Galliford Try before it, Barratt announced a sizeable increase in the average cost of one of its houses; up 13 per cent to £220,000 in the financial year. Completions were [...]
Bottom Line: There’s still plenty of time to build on this bull run July 7, 2014 CRITICS of the government’s Help-to-Buy programme, which is often accused of doping up already-too-high house prices, sometimes refer to it as “Help-to-Sell”. The scheme, which either backs up or even contributes to mortgages, is certainly helping housebuilders to sell a few more properties and thus bolster their earnings. Such fortunes are reflected clearly in the [...]
London report: Housing data to show soaring market levelling July 6, 2014 Housing prices are likely to be in focus this week, as two surveys show prices are still rising, though the market is levelling off. The RICS survey, published today, is expected to show less growth than in past months. Barclays’ Armela Mancellari said: “We expect the overall balance to have edged down [...]
London Report: FTSE ends on a high on strong economic data July 2, 2014 Britain’s top share index hit a one-week high yesterday, with upbeat economic data from the US and China improving investor sentiment and boosting cyclical sectors such as banks and miners and carmakers. The FTSE 100 index closed 0.2 per cent firmer at 6,816.37 points, after climbing to a high of 6,829.49, the highest level since [...]
Bank of England mortgage lending cap attempts to stop boom June 26, 2014 The Bank of England announced a new mortgage lending cap yesterday, with the hope that the rule would cool down the housing market if credit became too frenzied. Governor Mark Carney revealed the rule, which will put a ceiling on banks’ riskier mortgage lending. The financial policy committee (FPC) decision means that no more than [...]
London Report: FTSE flat as Barclays fall is countered by housebuilder climbs June 26, 2014 BARCLAYS Bank’s shares plummeted 6.5 per cent yesterday as the FTSE index ended flat despite a rally in housebuilders on Bank of England comments. The FTSE 100 closed on 6,735.12 up 0.02 per cent or 1.5 points. The market was also underpinned by the London Stock Exchange Group, which surged 6.1 per cent after unveiling [...]
Tight mortgage rules slow down lending growth June 23, 2014 TOUGH new affordability checks have knocked mortgage lending, Bank of England data showed yesterday. Lending is still growing, but at a slightly slower pace after the mortgage market review (MMR) rules came into force in April. The number of banks reporting rising demand for prime mortgages outweighed those reporting a fall by a margin of 27.5 [...]