Countrywide tumbles as housing transactions slide
30th Jul 2015 09:38
(ShareCast News) - First-half profits from property group Countrywide fell 22% on the same period last year and well short of analysts forecasts as a "difficult UK housing market" led to plummeting estate agency earnings. Despite soaring house prices, the volume of transactions fell 12% in the six m
Read moreUK average house price overtakes pre-crisis high, says Land Registry
28th Jul 2015 11:54
(ShareCast News) - UK property price trends are on the rise, according to the Land Registry, lifting the average property value in England and Wales during June above the pre-crisis high. With London house prices leading the way, there was a 1.1% rise versus the preceding month and an increase of 5.
Read moreUK house price growth accelerates in May, confirms ONS
14th Jul 2015 10:34
(ShareCast News) - UK house price growth bounced back in May, according to official figures, with average house prices increasing by 0.9% over the month after a fall the month before. While simultaneously released data showed the country's core inflation sank back to 0%, house price inflation increa
Read moreCountrywide announces management shake-up
3rd Jul 2015 12:09
Countrywide announced six new senior appointments and a shake-up of its structure on Friday, which involves bringing its core Estate Agency and Lettings divisions into one retail structure. The company appointed Samantha Tyrer as managing director of Retail. Tyrer joins Countrywide from Dixons Carph
Read moreFoxtons slumps as Citi initiates stock at 'sell'
30th Jun 2015 10:01
Foxtons slumped 4% on Tuesday after Citigroup initiated coverage of the stock at 'sell' with a 215p price target. It said Foxtons has the strongest brand profile and margin performance of the three stocks it was examining in its note on UK estate agents. However, the company is largely focused on Lo
Read moreFoxtons a 'sell' for Peel Hunt as it warns estate agents face long-term headwinds
2nd Jun 2015 16:12
Peel Hunt initiated coverage of the UK estate agency sub-sector with a 'sell' rating on Foxtons and 'hold' ratings on Countrywide, LSL and Savills. The broker said the decisive result in the general election has provided a welcome fillip for the UK estate agents, removing uncertainty over mansion ta
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
2nd Jun 2015 07:57
British American Tobacco: JP Morgan reiterates overweight and 4,100p target price. Royal Mail: JP Morgan reiterates neutral stance. Playtech: JP Morgan reiterates buy. Henderson Group: UBS reiterates neutral stance and 275p target. Prudential: UBS reiterates buy recommendation and 1,950p target.
Read moreCountrywide boss takes the long view
19th May 2015 16:41
Countrywide chief executive Alison Platt has acquired approximately £250,000 worth of shares, the property services group confirmed. In a short statement on Tuesday, the FTSE 250 group said Platt purchased 41,700 ordinary shares, representing 0.019% of the company's issued share capital, at 595.50p
Read moreSector movers: Property and beverages shares keep London market in green territory
14th May 2015 15:12
Property, housebuilders and beverages shares kept the London market broadly in green territory on Thursday, as worries in Greece continued to lurk in the background. At 16:24 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading at 6,964.17 up 0.21% or 14.54 property and housebuilding continuing to trade higher off the bac
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Keller hit by delays and weak US market, property stocks surge
14th May 2015 12:57
UK stocks rebounded from early losses by mid-afternoon, but recovery remained capped by concerns of Greek instability. Sector-wise, miners and computer services provided the biggest drag, while property stocks and insurers provided a welcome boost. At 2:30 BST, the FTSE 250 was trading 50 points hig
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: property and rail stocks surge on Tory win
8th May 2015 13:27
Wireless antenna maker Laird topped the risers on higher first quarter revenues and a strong outlook for the rest of the year. "We have some visibility on new products to be launched by customers in the second half of the year, which underpins our current full year outlook," said chief executive Dav
Read moreMarket overview: Stocks surge on election results
8th May 2015 08:56
1630: Close Stocks ended day sharply higher following the surprise win by the Conservatives. Various issues received a significant boost as traders readjusted their positions to the prospect that the current economic policy settings would be maintained and the implications that would have for those
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Zoopla rockets on acquisition, RPS hit by sluggish first quarter
30th Apr 2015 13:05
Zoopla, the residential property website group, topped the risers after agreeing to acquire utility price comparison site uSwitch for up to £190m. Zoopla said it expected the deal to be "significantly enhancing" to adjusted basic earnings per share in the first full financial year following completi
Read moreCountrywide posts quarterly revenue decline amid challenging market conditions
29th Apr 2015 09:36
Real estate and property group Countrywide reported a decline in first quarter revenue, as challenging market conditions hit its house sales distribution. The London-listed group said total revenue in the first quarter declined 2% year-on-year to £154.2m, as a decline in UK housing market conditions
Read moreBroker tips: Housing stocks, Reckitt Benckiser, Majestic Wine
10th Apr 2015 11:34
Housebuilders were putting in decent gains on Friday as Jefferies upgraded ratings for stocks across the sector after recent data pointed to a stronger pre-election housing market than anticipated. The broker raised Bellway, Bovis Homes, Countrywide, Crest Nicholson, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Zoopla
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