The market was back in full swing today as rumours that Countrywide is on the block sent shares in the country’s biggest estate agent soaring.
The company behind Hamptons International, John D Wood & Co and Bairstow Eves has been weighed down by a build-up in debt since its flotation in 2013 and a housing market in reverse since Brexit.
Prior to its float, the company was owned by private equity and rumours are that US funds are circling again to take it off the market.
Analysts believe time away from public scrutiny could help, adding that its founder Harry Hill should be reinstated in a senior role. Chris Millington, analyst at Numis, said: “It feels like the rot has set in at Countrywide.”
The shares were up 20%, or 1p, to 5.7p. Countrywide could not be reached for comment.
It comes despite some positive data from Rightmove which showed that there had been a surge in property sales in August. Analysts said this was down to buyers desperately completing transactions before the UK tries to leave the European Union in October. Rightmove shares rose 0.2p to 12.4p.
Among the blue-chips, oilers were on the rise after crude prices leapt following a weekend attack on a Saudi oil facility by Yemeni separatists.
A drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi group on an oilfield in Saudi Arabia on Saturday caused a fire at a gas plant, adding to Middle East tensions.
Royal Dutch Shell was up 28.5p to 2294p, while BP climbed 5.7p to 495p.
The FTSE 100 jumped nearly 51.49 points to 7168.22, its biggest one-day rise in more than 10 days as Apple boss Tim Cook warned President Donald Trump yesterday that tariffs would hurt US tech giants and benefit Samsung. Trump appeared to take his words on board.
Embattled iron ore pellets producer Ferrexpo beefed up its investigation into Blooming Land, promoting Ukrainian politician and businessman Vitalii Lisovenko, an independent director, to senior independent director.
London-listed Ferrexpo’s dealings with Blooming Land have dogged the firm after previous auditor Deloitte found money paid to the charity by Ferrexpo could have been misappropriated. The shares were up 2%, or 4.4p, to 215p.
Neil Woodford breathed a sigh of relief as Malcolm Pye, boss at Benchmark Holdings, decided to step down. Benchmark, which farms disease-resistant shrimp, has been struggling but Woodford ditched his stake in July. The shares were off 2%, or 1p, to 40p.
