Taylor Wimpey's US arm attracts bid interest

18th Jan 2011 07:14

Taylor Wimpey has hit an eight-month high after the housebuilder today confirmed it is in the early stages of evaluating a number of approaches for its North American business."We will update the market as appropriate in due course and there is no guarantee that any transaction will be concluded," the group said TuesdayLower house prices and gradually reducing foreclosure levels in the US have provided the potential for a strong recovery as confidence returns, according to today's update. The firm, also keen to sell its Monarch Homes division in Canada, expects market conditions there to remain "robust" for the foreseeable future. Outperformance in North America has helped full-year underlying operating profit and pre-tax profit beat upgraded expectations set out in November. Analysts also like the company's decision to recognise about £300m of UK deferred tax assets in its year end results, adding around 9p to net asset value. In the UK where it trades as Bryant, Laing and George Wimpey homes, Taylor Wimpey completed 9,962 homes last year, down from 10,186 in 2009, at an average selling price of £171,000, up £11,000 on the year before."Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, trading during the second half of the year was in line with our overall expectations, with mortgage availability remaining the key constraint on industry volumes," it said.