- Savills chair snaps up shares
- Victorian Plumbing founder buys £400,000 worth of stock
- Takes stake closer to 50%
The chair of Savills (SVS) Nicholas Ferguson snapped up £80,000 worth of shares in the property business.
Year-to-date the £1.2 billion market cap has fallen more than 40% and it is down 18% in the last month, caught up in a sell-off in the real estate sector which has been exacerbated by the response to the mini-Budget on 23 September.
First-half results (11 August) saw Savills report a drop in underlying pre-tax profit from £66.1 million to £59.2 million, albeit in line with expectations, despite revenue rising 9% to £1.04 billion. The company also flagged risks to the global real estate market from rising interest rates.
At the time stockbroker Numis cut its 2022 pre-tax profit forecast by 5% but observed: ‘Whilst uncertainty will persist for some time, we take comfort from Savills’ global brand, diversification by end market/geography and its strong balance sheet.’
VICTORIAN PLUMBING BOSS ADDS TO STAKE
The CEO and founder of online bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing (VIC:AIM) reacted to recent weakness in the share price by adding to his stake.
The £400,000 trade, which saw Mark Radcliffe snap up one million shares at 40p each, takes his total shareholding from 46.6% to 47.1%.
Victorian Plumbing arrived on AIM to some fanfare in June 2021 and was initially valued at £850 million but it has struggled and is now worth around £150 million. There is concern that spending on home improvements will fall away amid weak consumer confidence and pressure on household budgets from rising mortgage and energy costs.
A full-year trading update on 6 October, covering the 12 months to 30 September, saw the company express confidence in its future prospects, with revenue up 78% on the year before the pandemic.
The company added that it remained highly cash generative and started its new financial year with £43 million of net cash.
