Barratt in talks to sell loans book August 8, 2011 Housebuilder Barratt Developments said it is in early talks with investors to sell part of its shared equity mortgage book, a set of loans which might whet the appetites of private equity or banks. Britain’s largest housebuilder by volume confirmed press speculation on Monday that it is mulling a partial sale of its portfolio of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 7, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES INVESTOR IRE SPARKS ICAP PAY REVIEW Icap, the largest interdealer broker, is to undertake a thorough review of its remuneration policy for the first time in eight years. The FTSE 100 group is making the move after a substantial minority protest vote at the annual meeting in mid-July. ONGC EYES SALE OF DEEPWATER [...]
BROKERS BOND AFTER TRAUMATIC TEAM TRIP August 2, 2011 KATIE Small, the managing director of Mercury West Associates, thought the “Tough Guy Challenge” would be a good way to bond her team of insurance brokers. Unfortunately, the nine-mile assault course was billed as “the safest most dangerous event in the world” – which may have had something to do with Small falling ill with [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 1, 2011 BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS Goldman Sachs has upgraded the house builder from “neutral” to “buy” with a target price of 159p. The broker has also upgraded rival Persimmon to “buy” after reviewing the property sector, and now expects broadly flat new-build house prices over the next two years, thanks to low build volumes and stable unemployment. Goldman [...]
Barratt sees return to full year profit July 14, 2011 BARRATT Developments, one of the UK’s largest house builders, said it would return to full-year profit despite market conditions remaining tough. The firm predicted a full-year pre-tax profit of £40m before exceptional items, after a loss of £33m in 2010, meeting market expectations. In its trading statement ahead of its annual results due September, the [...]
NOW ON IN LONDON SIX OF THE BEST June 16, 2011 THEATRE Shrek the Musical The cartoon ogre makes it to the London stage, with pretty wonderful results. A big, family-friendly hit, and possibly the heir to the Lion King’s throne? ART Toulouse-Lautrec Exhibition examining the relationship between the height-challenged chronicler of the seedier side of Parisian life in the Belle Epoque and the Moulin Rouge [...]
Construction output falls less than expected May 13, 2011 Construction output fell slightly less sharply in the first quarter than first thought, indicating the sector was less of a drag on overall GDP growth, official data showed on Friday. The Office for National Statistics said construction output fell four per cent in the first three months, less than the initially reported drop of 4.7 [...]
UK housebuilders lifted by a rise in profits as market improves May 11, 2011 BRITISH housebuilders Barratt and Bovis Homes both said they expected to report a rise in profit after a pick-up in sales, although activity will remain limited by tight mortgage availability. Barratt Developments, Britain’s largest housebuilder by volume, said yesterday sales rates returned to normal levels from 1 January to 8 May, with private selling prices [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 9, 2011 GREAT PORTLAND UBS has downgraded the property firm from “neutral” to “sell” and has raised its target price by 40p to 390p. The broker thinks the current share price is forward-looking, and does not allow for much execution risk in Great Portland’s ambitious development plans in the City and West End. However, it thinks strong [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 8, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Today, energy company Centrica delivers a trading statement and holds its AGM. ● Also today, HSBC delivers its first quarter trading update. The update includes more financial details than previous quarterly updates. Pre-tax profits are expected to rise. ● Serco also holds its AGM today. The FTSE 100 company was founded in [...]