Housebuilders on slide
Two of Britain’s biggest house builders delivered a warning about the state of the market yesterday.
Crest Nicholson said it was hit by a combination of rising building costs, just as the price it gets for its homes has flattened.
That resulted in half-year profits falling 2% to £74.8million, even though its revenues rose by a healthy 13% to £473m.
Crest mainly focuses on southern England.
Chief executive Patrick Bergin said: “We have taken a number of actions to seek to offset build cost pressures and invest in areas of greater housing affordability.” The
6888.7
Oil bleak update, and a warning about full-year profit margins, saw Crest’s share price dived 4% yesterday.
Meanwhile, rival Bellway said house prices “moderated”, with demand easing for its more expensive properties.
Overall, Bellway was more upbeat than Crest, saying it expected its house sales to top 10,000 for the first time in its history over the full year – up by around 600 on the previous 12 months.
However, this news couldn’t prevent Bellway’s share price falling more than 3% yesterday.
= $76.34
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rivals weeping after posting a 53% surge in sales.
Known for its edgy designs, the firm – which features Spurs’ Dele Alli (right) in its new ad campaign – raked in £183million in the three months to the end of May. Its offshoot Pretty Little Thing saw takings rise 158% to nearly £80m. Shares in trendy fashion firm Ted Baker tumbled yesterday after it posted weaker then expected results. The firm, which has normally done well as rivals suffered, announced a 4.2% rise in sales for the past 19 weeks. But the increase was fuelled by its wholesale arm and opening more stores. Shares in the company fell more than 1.7%. Lindsay Page, the company’s chief operating officer, said it was “right to be cautious”. DIP Ted shares fell 1.7%