>Bovis Homes launches share issue to raise cash for land
Housebuilder’s share placement opening today is aimed to provide £60m to buy development land
Bovis Homes is set to place 12.1 million ordinary shares in a bid to raise £60m for new land. The placing represents 10% of the firm’s share capital and will be launched today.
The proposed placing will provide the housebuilder with more financial flexibility to take advantage of opportunities in the short to medium term to acquire land for development, it said.
The firm said that its balance sheet had moved to a net cash position of £7m at 21 August and it had achieved a pre-exceptional profit before tax during the first half of the year.
Bovis added that it had seen a 92% increase in private sales over the same period and was well positioned within the housebuilding sector to take advantage of an increasing number of short to medium term opportunities to invest in residential land assets.
In February, rival Berkeley Group raised £50m to invest in new land and take advantage of the anticipated slump in land prices.
By Michael Willoughby taken from Building.co.uk