>Berkeley highlights £300m net cash
Group contemplates more scheme purchases to add value, as forward sales remain above £600m
Berkeley Group is expected to highlight a strong balance sheet at its AGM today, as chairman Victoria Mitchell makes an interim management statement for the period from 1 May to 31 August.
The group will report net cash in excess of £300m at 31 August 2009, after acquiring Saad Investments Company’s shares in joint ventures of which Berkeley took complete control at the end of July.
Its strong cash position leaves Berkeley well placed to take advantage of any further such opportunities that could add value to the company, it said. In the first four months of the year it has agreed to acquire a number of new sites, including Johnson House in London’s Belgravia.
The group has previously drawn attention to a continuing increase in stability in the housing market in London and the South-east, and it is expected to note a continuation of this during the first four months of its financial year, with Berkeley’s forward sales maintained above £600m.
Berkeley is also expected to reveal it does not expect any writedowns and that the financial performance for both the half and full year will be in line with its expectations.
By Emily Wright taken from Building