Investors down tools at housebuilder Persimmon

HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon was down in the doldrums after flagging up that the coronavirus could still spell an uncertain few months.

That was the message from the FTSE 100 firm, which raked in £ 3.3bn of revenues last year despite lockdown disruption.

Nevertheless, its trading update pointed to a relatively strong 2020. The £3.3bn was down just slightly from 2019’s £3.7bn, and the average selling price of a house was up from £215,709 to £230,500.

Persimmon put this down to pent-up demand for houses after the first lockdown, a surge in interest for larger houses, and the stamp duty holiday which is in place until March.

But towards the end of the year, these factors began to wane. Weekly sales during the final quarter dipped, sparking caution among investors.

It also warned of the pandemic’s effect on ‘unemployment levels and consumer confidence’, which could damage house-buying, the impact of an end to the stamp duty holiday, and increased customs duties on supplies imported from the EU due to Brexit.

It added: ‘We recognise the elevated risk to the group’s planned build programmes presented by the higher transmission rates of the new variant of the Covid-19 virus.’ Unease caused shares to dip 6.2pc, or 173p, to 2612p.

Persimmon ended up as the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, which was near-flat at 6745.52 points.

But while the large- cap index was treading water, there were some bigger swings at the smaller end of the market.

Shares in Synairgen, listed on junior stock market Aim, rose 9.7pc, or 15p, to 169p as the British drugs firm began late- stage tests of a coronavirus treatment.

The first person was dosed yesterday as part of a fast-track study looking at the impact of the inhaled drug, usually used to treat lung disease, on hospitalised Covid patients.

Testing will take place in 20 countries, Synairgen said, and is expected to involve 610 patients.

Synairgen boss Richard Marsden explained: ‘This trial presents an opportunity for a significant UK scientific breakthrough and, if given the right support, our drug could rapidly assist with the global crisis.’

The FTSE 250 was down 0.5pc, or 96.65 points, to 20616.31 points, amid rising fears that Britain’s economy would take some time to recover from the virus even with vaccines. Fund manager Liontrust was one bright spot, climbing 8pc, or 100p, to 1350p.

It said investors had piled in £792m more than they had pulled out between October and December, and £2.5bn more over the entirety of 2020. It now looks after £29.4bn of savers’ money, up 83pc since January.

Howden Joinery was also on the rise. The company, which makes kitchen and joinery products, said that its sales had been stronger than expected towards the end of last year.

Home improvement firms have been sustained by more households being at home and deciding to make changes.

Howdens now thinks its profits for 2020 will be £185m – down from £ 260.7m the year before, but higher than it initially thought

Shares climbed 2.8pc, or 19.2p, to 713.2p.

Back among the smaller stocks, broadcaster STV rocketed after announcing profits for 2020 would be ‘comfortably ahead of expectations’ at a minimum of £18m.

The Scottish firm pulled in more money from advertising than the average of its rivals, and it saw a rise of 14pc in TV viewing and 68pc on its on-demand service.

The shares leapt 14.6pc, or 43p, to 338p.