INTERVIEW: Persimmon May Take On More Debt When Econ Improves

6th Jul 2010 08:11

By Anita Likus Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The U.K.'s largest house builder by market capitalization, Persimmon PLC (PSN.LN), will take on more debt if necessary to buy land, Chief Executive Mike Farley told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview Tuesday. "We are happy to see our debt rise if necessary...but we want more clarity on the macro economics," he said. "The housing market we can judge, but we can't see what impact spending cuts and job cuts will have." The CEO has been focusing on bringing down Persimmon's debt level, which dropped to GBP122 million at June 30, representing gearing of only 7%. He is currently financing land purchases from cash raised by the business. "There is sufficient land for us to buy at present time," said Farley, adding that he doesn't have any immediate need to take on more debt to continue buying land. But he added that land is still very affordable and that he is mainly focusing on buying land in the south. -By Anita Likus, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 20 7842 9407; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 06, 2010 03:11 ET (07:11 GMT)