Boss snaps up shares as Bovis turnaround grows

THE boss tasked with reviving Bovis’s fortunes has bought nearly £95,000 of shares in the housebuilder as analysts talked up its future.

Greg Fitzgerald came out of retirement last year to take the reins at Bovis as the firm knocked back a £2.5bn takeover bid from his ex-employer Galliford Try.

In a sign of confidence for the housebuilder, Fitzgerald shelled out for 8,253 shares at £11.44 each yesterday, adding to the £2m he bought in June last year.

A glowing analyst report praising the work Fitzgerald had done turning around the FTSE 250 firm prompted investors to follow him in hoovering up shares.

The embattled housebuilder’s reputation took a battering last year after it was caught giving cash bribes to buyers to move into unfinished homes so it could meet its targets. But in a note to investors, broker Canaccord said: ‘Bovis continues to reset it business and get back on track. The new chief executive is focusing on the right priorities, with 2017 results all broadly in line with expectations.’ Russ Mould of broker AJ Bell said: ‘Bovis’s profit margins are still well below those of its peers but with completion numbers expected to reach new peaks in 2018, good cost control and the launch of a new range of houses Bovis has a very good chance of improving its return on sales to levels that are nearer its FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 rivals.’

Bovis’s shares advanced shot up 4.5pc, or 49p to 1132p.

The FTSE 100 rose a modest 0.65pc, or 46.08 points to 7115.98 as markets downplayed concerns over a hung parliament in Italy.

Sky had cause for cheers after leapfrogging rival BT to become the most valuable pay TV and broadband company in the UK. Sky’s shares have rocketed by more than a fifth over the past week (although they fell 1.3pc or 18.5p to 1355p yesterday) amid an anticipated bidding war between US cable giant Comcast, Fox and Disney for the satellite TV provider.

The speculation has pushed Sky’s value up to £23.6bn, meaning it is now worth £170m more than BT (up 0.9pc or 2.15p to 238.4p). Just two years ago, BT was worth more than twice Sky.

Two failed mergers dominated the FTSE 250, which managed to end the day up a respectable 0.93pc, or 180.46 points at 19,567.

Defence firm Ultra Electronics was forced to call off a £170m merger with New York-listed Sparton Corporation amid competition concerns from the US Department of Justice.

The two firms already develop underwater sensors for the US Navy through joint venture.

However, Ultra thought a merger made ‘sound strategic sense’ after Sparton put itself up for sale in April 2016. The DoJ had other ideas, though, and so both firms have called an end to the merger talks. Now Ultra is planning to buy back £134m in shares to return the money it raised for the deal to shareholders. Ultra’s shares plunged 9.8pc, or 146p, to 1333p.

FTSE 250- listed oil and gas exploration company SOCO

International revealed it had dropped merger plans with Kuwait Energy after failing to agree terms.

SOCO, which has interests in Vietnam, the Republic and Congo and Angola, said: ‘SOCO confirms that it has terminated these discussions because it could not reach agreement with Kuwait Energy on the basis for an acceptable transaction.’

Despite the announcement, shares rose 1pc, or 1p, to 93p. Online betting company GVC

Holdings has agreed to buy Crystalbet, one of Georgia’s leading online gaming firms.

However, GVC’s shareholders were left feeling underwhelmed and its shares sunk 1.4pc, or 12.5p to 860p.