Let’s take a closer look at Neil Woodford’s dubious investment decisions October 23, 2019 The man with the Midas touch. That was how people saw Neil Woodford only a few short years ago. But things didn’t work out that well for King Midas in the end, and the same can be said for the former star manager, whose reputation is in tatters and whose investment empire now set to [...]
MJ Gleeson reports surging profits despite Brexit uncertainty hitting construction firms February 14, 2019 Housebuilder MJ Gleeson’s shares rose 4.86 per cent this morning as it announced soaring profits and “no signs of customer caution” despite no sign of a Brexit deal as the deadline to leave the EU looms. The FTSE small cap-listed firm beat analyst expectations and continued to defy the fate of its contemporaries, who have [...]
UK’s largest housebuilder Barratt starts year in ‘strong position’ despite drop in reservations October 17, 2018 Housebuilder Barratt Developments looked to paint a positive picture in its trading update this morning, as it announced a rise in forward sales and remained confident of the year ahead. Total forward sales in the 15 weeks to mid-October were up 12.4 per cent on the prior year at a value of £3.1bn. However, reservations [...]
Marston’s appoints Lazard’s UK CEO as its new chairman September 6, 2018 The UK boss of financial adviser Lazard is headed to the pub with a new job as chairman of Marston's. William Rucker will take on the position from the beginning of next month, taking over from interim chair and Tesco veteran Carolyn Bradley. He has been chief executive of Lazard in the UK since 2004. He has previously [...]
Berkeley boss Tony Pidgley has made an ominous call about the future of London’s housing market June 21, 2018 Legendary housebuilder Tony Pidgley is primarily known for three things. Firstly, he was a Barnardo’s baby, subsequently adopted by a family of gypsies. Secondly, from such humble beginnings he rose to become one of the UK’s highest-paid business chiefs. And thirdly, he is credited with calling the house price crash at the end of the [...]
Sadiq Khan campaign: FTSE-listed housebuilders pledge to reserve London homes for UK-based buyers February 5, 2018 Some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders have pledged to restrict the sale of London homes to UK-based buyers following a campaign by Sadiq Khan. Taylor Wimpey, Barratt London, Berkeley Homes, Redrow and others have offered to restrict sales of homes worth up to £350,000 to UK-based buyers for three months before embarking on any overseas [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) wins tax tribunal disputing stamp duty land tax scheme used by housebuilder Crest Nicholson March 12, 2017 Crest Nicholson has been told to pay £1.3m it unsuccessfully tried to keep under a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) avoidance scheme after a tribunal found in the taxman's favour. The FTSE 250 housebuilder had used the scheme to avoid paying SDLT, by transferring assets between two sub-companies, on three purchases of land for development in Kent, which cost [...]
Crest Nicholson’s profit soars – but it warns about cost pressures and falling house prices in central London January 24, 2017 Crest Nicholson's share price remained largely flat as the company reported a 27 per cent jump in profit. The builder said it was selling more homes at higher prices – but warned of pricing pressures in central London and cost inflation due to the Brexit vote. The figures The housebuilder's profit jumped 27 per cent in [...]
Housebuilder share prices are being pushed lower for the second day: Redrow, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and Berkeley Group drop November 9, 2017 Shares in housebuilders tumbled for the second consecutive day this morning, after a double whammy of bad news from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and housebuilder Redrow spooked investors. On the FTSE 100, Persimmon was the biggest faller, dropping 2.6 per cent, but Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and Berkeley Group all slid lower. On [...]
Housebuilder share prices: McCarthy & Stone share price falls along with Berkeley Group, Persimmon, Barratt and others on leasehold crackdown December 21, 2017 Housebuilders were hit hard this morning after the government revealed new rules cracking down on leasehold practices described by communities secretary Sajid Javid as “feudal”. Shares in FTSE 250-listed McCarty & Stone, which specialises in retirement homes, fell 10.3 per cent to 152.3p on the news. Meanwhile, on the FTSE 100, Berkeley Group fell 1.5 [...]