2011 in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

 

Click here to see the complete report.

We have made it in to #tCnTop100

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We like our sister company Onyx Marketing and its Blog site have an associated Twitter account @onyxconsultants and both twitter accounts were registered with the tCnTop100 PeerIndex site about  a month ago.

The tCnTop100 is a listing of tweeters in UK and the built environment. Our sister site goes in to more detail about the #tCnTop100 and  has links to the site so follow this link to Onyx Marketing Blog for more information.

In the meantime we would just like to announce that we, that is Onyx Consultants Ltd has also made it in to the Top 100 list (in at 92) of twitter sites and as such can display the badge on our site. Onyx Marketing made it in to the top 100 last week.

If you are listed on the site let us know in the comment box below.

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Taylor Wimpey Performing as Expected

Building group Taylor Wimpey plc said it is performing in line with management expectations.

In an interim management statement at its AGM today (April 21), the group said it remained focused on delivering margin improvement from the existing land portfolio in the UK and adding new sites where good opportunities were identified.

A relatively flat market in the UK was expected over the remainder of 2011.

Taylor Wimpey said it expected to make further progress in delivering value from its existing land portfolio.

Completion of the disposal of its North American business would put the group in a strong position to add new sites where attractive opportunities were identified.

It remained on track to achieve a target of double-digit operating margins in the UK in 2012, subject to continuing stable market conditions.

The group expected net debt to reduce significantly by the half year following the receipt of proceeds from its North American sale and scheduled home completions in the UK.

It said market conditions in the UK remained resilient despite uncertainty in the wider economy and the restricted level of mortgage lending.

Further improvement had been achieved in the margin on sales in its order book. The current order book stood at 5,681 homes, against 4,684 at the end of December.

Persimmon Reports 12% Jump In Sales Reservations

House builder Persimmon said today new sales reservations taken in the year to date have increased by around 12%.

At the beginning of the year Perimmon had a sales order book of £565m which was lower than the previous year (January 2010: £638m). At the time it commented that sales rates had been affected by the uncertainty created by the planned austerity measures and the unusually bad weather during November and December.

Since then sales rates have improved with the total value of new sales reservations taken in the year to date increasing by c. 12% when compared to the same period last year. The order book, including legal completions already achieved this year, now stands at a similar level to last year at £1.14bn.

Persimmon said in line with its continuing strategy of margin improvement, these sales will generate further margin growth.

Galliford Try Housing Companies Re-branded as Linden Homes

The Galliford Try Group has united its housebuilding companies under one banner – Linden Homes.

 

 

Stamford Homes, Midas Homes, Rosemullion Homes and Gerald Wood Homes will all now operate under the Linden Homes brand name.

 

A quote from their new look website states ”Our aim is to further improve upon our customer service and the quality of our homes to achieve a better understanding of what you want, drawing on our regional expertise and applying it on a national level”

 

Long overdue in our opinion having the same corporate identity is more suitable to a top twenty house builder than half a dozen names with the same logo.

 

But as a reminder here are some of the names and logos we won’t be seeing any more.

 

If you are a house builder and need assistance with your commercial requirements or a subcontractor looking for an introduction to major house builders such as Galliford Try Linden Homes then contact Andrew Fella at Onyx Construction Consultants Ltd on 01473 743682

 

Bellway Homes Show Increase in Profit of 26% to £24m

 

House Builder Bellway p.l.c. Announced their interim results for the half year to 31 January 2011.

 

Highlights

· Completed sales of 2,332 homes (2010 – 2,247)

· Average price achieved £168,428 (2010 – £155,871)

· Total Group turnover of £407.9m (2010 – £360.8m)

· Profit before taxation £24.0m (2010 – £19.0m)

· Interim dividend 3.7p (2010 – 3.3p)

· Net asset value per ordinary share 866p (31 July 2010 – 856p)

· Earnings per share 15.3p (2010 – 11.6p)

· Forward order book at 13 March of £479.2m (14 March 2010 – £435.4m)

Chairman Howard Dawe said “Bellway has exceeded its targets for the six months ended 31 January 2011″ as “the Group legally completed 2,332 homes, an increase of almost 4%” and “resulted in profit before tax of £24.0 million, an increase of 26.3%”.

Furthermore “I am delighted to announce that the interim dividend will be increased by 12.1%.”

He continued “Last week’s budget announcements regarding our industry are to be welcomed” and “our appetite for land purchase continues.”

He concluded “visitors and reservations have returned to the pattern of a traditional spring market” but “consumer confidence remains fragile” however “Bellway is……currently well positioned to deliver increasing returns.”

Taylor Wimpey Reduces Debt by Selling Off US and Canada Housing Divisions

 

One of Onyx Construction Consultants major clients announced on 31st March that it had reduced its debt with the sale of its USA & Canada House Building Divisions a wise move we think bearing in mind the current climate in the US and UK.

 

Taylor Wimpey plc announces the sale of its North American Business for ($955m) £595m.

The Company has agreed to sell  Taylor Woodrow Holdings (USA), Inc. and Taylor Wimpey Holdings of Canada, Corporation to TMM Holdings Limited Partnership, a partnership controlled by certain investment funds affiliated with TPG Capital, certain investment funds affiliated with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., as well as JH Investments Inc., and its subsidiaries  for a base consideration of $955m (£595m at the current exchange rate) payable on Completion. The Company will also receive additional proceeds for cash balances in the North American Business as at 31 December 2010 and net capital invested by the Company in the North American Business from 1 January 2011 to Completion.

Highlights of the Disposal:

- The Disposal is a significant step towards achieving the Group’s strategic objective of focusing on its core UK housing business, creating a strong financial base for future investment;

- The base consideration of £595m represents a premium of 3.4% to adjusted net assets as at 31 December 2010); and

- The net cash proceeds of the Disposal will be applied to reduce the Group’s borrowings and its pension deficit, resulting in an overall increase in its financial flexibility.

Following the Disposal, the Group will build on the significant performance improvement in the UK. The Group will continue to focus on delivering margin improvement from the existing land portfolio and adding new sites where good opportunities are identified.

Pete Redfern, Group Chief Executive, said:

“We are delighted to announce the sale of our North American Business, which is a significant step towards our goal of becoming a UK focused homebuilder. The sale will provide us with a strengthened balance sheet and increased financial capacity to invest in the UK and to pursue our strategic aims of focusing on margin growth.

“Following a competitive process, we are pleased to have achieved a price that reflects an attractive valuation for this business. I have been hugely impressed by our North American employees and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their hard work, loyalty and commitment over many years and in relation to this transaction.“