fitcontroller
13 Feb 2017
Re: dividend? On Friday we announced the next return of £1 per share (£138.8m) to be made via share buy-backs and dividends. Therefore, in February Berkeley will announce the dividend to be paid at the end of March based on the absolute value of £138.8m (being 138.8m shares at £1.00) less the cost of any share buy-backs undertaken between now and the end of February. This approach will apply each 6 month period and the relevant paragraph which sets this out is the last one under Strategic Delivery on page 5 of the announcement. This confirms that the same process will happen in August and September for the next £1 per share per annum equivalent.
fitcontroller
13 Feb 2017
Re: dividend? I believe the decision is made this month depending on if any of the divi cash is used to buyback shares, it is to be paid next month to the best of my knowledge
manxgold
13 Feb 2017
dividend? does BKG expect to pay a divi anytime in the near future?.
Damp Seaweed
06 Feb 2017
Re: Line in sand We averaging down quite nicely. Though some might say the price support is failing.Total Purchased 633,315VWAP £2,837Total Cost £15,010,695
Damp Seaweed
30 Jan 2017
Re: Line in sand We averaging down quite nicely. Though some might say the price support is failing.Total Purchased 457,472 VWAP £2,845 Total Cost £12,967,607 or ~9.35p shareDistribution Pot size £278M or 200p /shar
Damp Seaweed
24 Jan 2017
Re: Line in sand The buyback so far;Date No Shares VWAP Value12/01/17 25,425 £2,878 £731,64817/01/17 31,637 £2,847 £900,81618/01/17 6,854 £2,869 £196,65519/01/17 51,504 £2,870 £1,477,92820/01/17 116,809 £2,812 £3,284,56423/01/17 100,000 £2,844 £2,843,820 Total 332,229 £2,853 £9,435,431
Damp Seaweed
24 Jan 2017
Re: Line in sand Suggesting they will be used for directors' bonuses is a tad too cynical!====You are right, but it is true''It should be noted that shares acquired through buy-backs may be cancelled or held in treasury. Retaining shares in treasury avoids the need to list and issue new shares to satisfy future share plan exercises''Page 6 from the EGM prospectus;[link] in fairness, I am being very selective and overall the proposals in this EGM seem a reasonable way of separating the Directors incentive scheme away for the share buyback scheme.But I still think share buybacks are a rubbish idea and not value enhancing.
Brown Bull
24 Jan 2017
Re: Line in sand The bought-back shares are held in Treasury, Effectively they are withdrawn from the market and will probably eventually be cancelled. Suggesting they will be used for directors' bonuses is a tad too cynical!The latest buybacks suggest they are prepared to pay up to 2870p. I think this may be too rich: 2800p seems to me a more sustainable level at present.
Rhigos
23 Jan 2017
Re: Telegraph/S Times story BKG-BVS merger According to article in today's Telegraph business supplement BKG not interested in buying Bovis. Looks like it was just Schroders trying to boost value of its Bovis shareholding.
lindst
23 Jan 2017
Pre Fab factory units The report that Berkeley is to produce high quality factory housingis an exciting answer to the housing problem. Many attemptshave failed in the past due to the lack of quality,design and skill thatBKG can demonstrate. Good luck
Hydrogen Economy
23 Jan 2017
Telegraph/S Times story BKG-BVS merger Several stories about Schroder trying to persuade Berkley Group to merge with Bovis, although none seem to give it much chance of going anywhere. No idea why Tony P would consider a merger with a company having ~25% BKG's market cap and some serious problems. I guess a buy-out to cherry-pick some of the land bank might work for them- the value of the plots would I'm sure higher in BKGs hands, but unclear if even this would interest BKG. Maybe with Central London flat, this could help BKG increase volume elsewhere but I guess there would be better fit with others like RDW or PSN as mentioned below.From the leaderless BVS side, I'm such a deal has plenty of attraction, Schroder said to hold 8.1% of BVS so understandable why they would suggest it.H2[link] City attempt to lay the foundations of a £5bn merger of Bovis Homes and Berkeley Group is on shaky ground, with Berkeley understood to have rejected the idea.Schroders, Bovis’ biggest shareholder, wrote to Berkeley proposing an all-share merger following a difficult trading period for Bovis which claimed the scalp of its chief executive David Ritchie.Bovis had issued a surprise profit warning at the end of 2016, saying that pre-tax profits were likely to be flat this year at between £160m and £170m, below analyst predictions of £180m, due to a slowdown in the rate of building and sales in December.The string of events prompted Schroders to target a merger with Berkeley, which mostly builds homes in London and the South East. Bovis’ activity is also concentrated on that area.But Berkeley sources said the company had dismissed the call, instead choosing to concentrate on growing through partnerships with the likes of the National Grid, with whom it signed a £700m joint venture to develop new homes on disused land owned by the power provider in 2014, rather than mergers.Other housebuilders, such as rivals Redrow or Persimmon, could still be in the frame to buy Bovis, which has struggled in recent months with slowing sales of its homes amid wider market uncertainty.Berkeley itself has not been immune to a slump in the market: last month it amended its five-year dividend plan to return some cash through share buybacks instead. It also said in December that the number of reservations for its homes had fallen by a fifth since the referendum, signalling the impact of the slowing London property market on the company.It hit out at Government policy which it said was increasing demand rather than supply, saying while it had helped in some areas, it was having “a negative effect on the capital”.Schroders declined to comment on the terms of its proposals.[link]
Damp Seaweed
19 Jan 2017
Re: Line in sand I'm not sure I feel very comfortable with this steady string of buying using my divi's. Whilst it currently is at a very low level. I'm not sure it serves any purpose The market goes up and goes down. The market is quite capable of putting a fair valuation on BKG. So why bother frittering away my divi.And what is the plan for these shares now held ? Stock awards to the Directors ?
IOMINVESTCOM
16 Jan 2017
BuyÂ’ Berkeley Group (target price £43.70) Buy’ Berkeley Group (target price £43.70)Housebuilder Berkeley Group (BKG) operates under the Berkeley, St George, St James, St Edward and St William brands.‘Berkeley Group has committed to paying a 200p dividend per annum until 2021 under its capital return program,’ writes Peel Hunt analyst Clyde Lewis.‘Its strong forward sales position gives the group a huge amount of visibility over the next 2-3 years compared to most other housebuilders. Its long land bank also provides added comfort for the cash flow as the group is able to unlock extra cash by running this down slightly if it chooses.‘While the latest decision to potentially use the capital earmarked for dividends on share buy backs removes some certainty to the dividends, we do not think this option will be utilised unless the shares are below £20. In the meantime the 200p dividend is delivering a 6.9% yield.’[link]
power morph
13 Jan 2017
Re: Line in sand I've probably got this wrong, but if they have bought 25k @ average of £28.77, then they have spent £731.6k of the £277.7m planned for shareholders (£2/share). This equates to still paying £1.9947 per share this year - although will continue to dilute as further purchases are made.Suspect my maths is wrong, but if not I'm not that precious about a small drop in divi to underpin the shareprice even at these levels.
PJ Foster
13 Jan 2017
Re: Line in sand Deeply unhappy about buying back at this level. Should prioritise dividends IMHO.Ho hum.
