Is it time to go House Builder Hunting?
Taking Stock on Thurday 16th November 2023
Taking Stock: Is a look at today's top business news & investment views plus we cover the winners, losers, the most read company news & the most followed. Today this includes:
Is it time to go House Builder Hunting?
MJ Gleeson - Trading Update
MJ Gleeson plc, the low-cost housebuilder and land promoter, is holding its Annual General Meeting later today at which James Thomson, Chairman, will make the following comments:
"Gleeson Homes has traded in line with the expectations set out in our September announcement.
Net reservation rates for the 9 weeks to 3 November 2023 increased to 0.47 per site per week (0.46 excluding bulk reservations), from 0.43 per site per week during the previous 9 weeks to 1 September 2023.
Mortgage rates have begun to stabilise and, against a more certain backdrop, we would expect buyer interest to pick up into the seasonally stronger Spring selling season.
The Board therefore currently expects that the results for FY2024 will be in line with market expectations.
We will provide a further update on 11 January 2024 following the conclusion of the half year."
Companies discussed on “Taking Stock” today:
02:00 & 07:20 Crest Nicholson #CRST
04:30 & 28:00 PHSC Plc #PHCS
05:50 Burberry #BRBY
06:00 & 12:10 Hargreaves Lansdown #HL.
06:45 Atlantic Lithium #ALL
09:50 Taylor Wimpey #TW.
10:00 MJ Gleeson #GLE
10:50 Foxtons #FOXT
16:00 Hotel Chocolat #HOTC
18:07 The City Pub Group #CPC
19:15 Verici DX #VRCI
19:37 Andrada Mining #ATM
20:30 Poolbeg Pharma #POLB
21:30 Amigo #AMGO
22:50 Aviva #AV.
25:15 Mirriad Advertising #MIRI
30:40 Celadon Pharmaceuticals #CEL
33:00 Byotrol #BYOT
34:06 Yellow Cake #YCA
35:05 Marks Electrical #MRK
38:20 Manolette Partners #MANO
TOP BUSINESS STORIES
Price paid for offshore power to rise by 66%
The price paid to generate electricity by offshore wind farms has been raised by 66% as the government tries to entice energy firms to invest.
It comes after an auction for offshore wind projects failed to attract any bids, with firms arguing the price set for electricity generated was too low.
The government has lifted the price it pays from £44 per MWh to £73
The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and is home to the world's four largest farms, supporting tens of thousands of jobs, which provided 13.8% of the UK's electricity generation last year, according to government statistics.
But when the government revealed in September that no companies had bid for project contracts, plans to nearly quadruple offshore wind capacity from 13 gigawatts to 50 by 2030 - enough to power every home in the UK - were dealt a heavy blow.
UK looking at making corporate tax incentive permanent, BT boss says
Britain's Treasury is considering making permanent a time-limited tax incentive that is designed to spur corporate investment, according to the boss of telecoms giant BT (BT.L), who said any such move would be a "game-changer".
Finance minister Jeremy Hunt will next week set out his plans to snap the economy out of anaemic growth, which has been held back by, among other things, weak business investment since the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
Philip Jansen, the outgoing CEO of BT which has used the schemes to accelerate the roll-out of its fibre broadband network, said making the tax incentives permanent would take the UK investment environment from good to great.
"I know the chancellor (Hunt) is considering this as one option for next week's Autumn Statement," he said in a blog that is due to be published later on Thursday.
"He has said he would like to take this step when the economic conditions allow. With billions of pounds of potential investment at stake, it's also important to ask whether, as a country, we can afford not to."
A government source said a final decision had not been made but noted that it would cost around 10 billion pounds ($12.40 billion) a year to extend the scheme.
Train drivers are set to stage a fresh round of strikes in their long-running dispute over pay.
The Aslef union has announced a "rolling programme" of walkouts between 2 and 8 December, with different train companies affected on each day.
Drivers will also refuse to work any overtime from 1 to 9 December.
The offer put forward in April included a series of changes to working practices and a pay deal which included a 4% wage rise backdated for 2022 and a further 4% rise for 2023.
The median salary for train drivers was £59,189 per year in 2021.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.