Indications for a positive start for this year’s construction and property sector in the UK can be seen from the home builder Bovis, property portal Rightmove and estate agents Savills. All are set to exceed city predictions with for their pre tax profits.
Bovis Home Builder
The Bovis Group started building homes in1965 by forming Bovis Homes and in December 1997 Bovis Homes was floated on the London Stock Exchange as Bovis Homes Group PLC. Bovis is regarded as one of the leading house builders in the United Kingdom. Bovis house prices rose by 4.7 percent in 2006 and the company reports that their house prices could increase at the same rate in 2007. The average property price for the builder in 2006 was £183,700. City analysts predict that the groups’ full year pre tax profits were set to reach 133 million which exceeds previous estimates of £127 million.
Right Move property portal
Rightmove.co.uk was founded by three of the UK’s largest estate agency chains – Halifax, Countrywide & Connells. In March 2006, Rightmove plc was publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange with the three original investors each retaining a significant shareholding. The company said profits were likely to be “slightly above” the range of City estimates, which were for a figure between £17m and £17.4m.
The property website said it had increased its prices for 5,500 existing independent estate agent customers, from £195 to £250 per office per month with effect from January 1.
Savills property services
Savills is an international property agent with business across the UK, Continental Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa. Savills said it expected profits to be ahead of expectations due to strong residential markets, particularly in London. It said prices in these markets grew by nearly 10 per cent in 2006 and turnover was “substantially higher” than 2005. In the last five years, Savills turnover has increased from £235.4m to £373.9 and reported profit before tax has risen from £21.6m to £58.6m; the company is now listed amongst the FTSE 250 on the London Stock Exchange.