To make it easier for our clients to stay up-to-date with UK land market developments and industry news, we have provided a quick snapshot of the news piece together with links to the whole article.
Two videos to watch on Greenfield land over at the BBC -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/greenfield-sites-pt-1-2-narration/1513.html
Part 2 –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/greenfield-site-narration-pt-2-2/1514.html
Land News 1
Land deals ahoy for house builders;
The snows have melted, and shares in the major housebuilders are due their annual fillip from the Spring selling season, and judging from the latest round of trading statements - which made a lot of positive noises about land acquisition, increased reservations and site starts - recovery is underway. But longer-term structural questions still dog the sector.
http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/MarketsAndSectors/Sectors/article/20100119/3c260ae4-0451-11df-9251-00144f2af8e8/Land-deals-ahoy-for-housebuilders-.jsp
Land News 2
Taylor Wimpey new home orders swell by 28%;
Taylor Wimpey, the UK’s biggest housebuilder, today revealed it has entered the new year with a 28 per cent rise in orders for new homes as improved conditions and rising prices had enabled the group to reduce its debt.
In a trading update on their performance in the 12 months to December 31, Taylor Wimpey said that it had reduced its borrowings from the £1.5 billion it owed at the end of 2008 to £750 million.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/construction_and_property/article6992053.ece
Land News 3
Barratts to focus on margins;
Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- New home sales in Britain won’t return to their 2007 peak for another five to seven years as builders focus on profit margins rather than volumes, said Barratt Developments Plc Chief Executive Officer Mark Clare.
“It will be a reasonably long, hard slog until volumes recover,” Clare said today on a conference call. “That’s what history would tell us, and that would mean we miss the targets set by the government.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aoQPy4zho9C0
