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Countrywide shareholders approve £140m cash call

Tue, 28th Aug 2018 14:10

(Sharecast News) - Countrywide shareholders approved a £140m emergency fundraising at the estate agency owner's annual general meeting on Tuesday.The company, which owns Bairstow and Eves and Hamptons, said more than 98% of its shareholders backed the cash call.Around £115m of the proceeds will be used towards paying down Countrywide's £200m debt, with a further £14m for general corporate purposes and to support working capital.Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The injection of £129m of cash will keep the wheels turning for now, but that money is being used to pay down debt rather than to fund growth. In other words, this cash is a lifeline rather than a springboard."The news comes just days after the company cancelled a £20m bonus scheme for top management."Indeed some of the wounds Countrywide is nursing were self-inflicted, though political and fiscal decisions have played a part too. In particular stamp duty reforms and Brexit concerns prompted a 22% decline in London housing transactions last year, which compounded the operational mistakes made by Countrywide itself," Khalaf said."Looking forward, it's a long road to recovery for Countrywide. The sales pipeline is not disappearing quite as quickly as it was, but the latest published decline of 9% is still pretty steep. In the immediate future the company also faces a prospective £21m revenue headwind from legislation banning letting fees being charged to tenants, expected to come into force next year."At 1430 BST, the shares were down 7.8% to 13.74p.
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25 Oct 2016 08:52

Countrywide slumps on Jefferies downgrade

(ShareCast News) - Countrywide was under the cosh on Tuesday as Jefferies downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'buy' and slashed the price target to 180p from 300p. The bank cut its calendar year 2016 earnings per share estimate by 24% and its estimate for 2017 by 31% on the back of weak housing t

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22 Sep 2016 14:14

Countrywide shares drop on Zoopla stake sale

(ShareCast News) - Shares in Countrywide fell on Thursday after the FTSE 250 estate agency group said it has sold its remaining stake in property website Zoopla. It sold just over 9.2m shares at an average price of £3.17 between 9 August and 21 September, giving gross proceeds of £29.2m. Countrywid

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22 Sep 2016 13:35

Thursday broker round-up

(ShareCast News) - Dunelm: HSBC starts coverage at buy with a target price of 1000p. Brown N Group: UBS keeps at neutral, 190p target. Tesco: Barclays keeps at neutral with a 215p target. Associated British Foods: Credit Suisse reiterates outperform with a 3550p target. BBA Aviation: Barclays kee

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6 Sep 2016 10:07

Tuesday broker round-up

(ShareCast News) - Marks & Spencer: Goldman Sachs reiterates sell with a target price of 315p. Bunzl: RBC maintains underperf orm with a 1950p target. Mediclinic: UBS keeps at buy with a 1170p target. Ultra Electronic: Berenberg reiterat es buy with a 2000p target. Associated British Foods: Goldm

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23 Aug 2016 14:32

FTSE 250 movers: JRP Group, housing stocks rally

(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 250 gained 0.78% to 18,010.36 points on Tuesday afternoon. JRP Group was the biggest riser on London's second tier index after the financial services group said trading to the end of July since its update on 11 May continued in line with expectations. The company said it

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28 Jul 2016 13:34

Broker tips: Cairn Energy, Lancashire, Countrywide

(ShareCast News) - Cairn Energy shares rose on Thursday as RBC Capital Markets raised its rating on the stock to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' and reiterated a target price of 260p. "We view the recent share price weakness as an opportunity to take a position in Cairn ahead of the first half re

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28 Jul 2016 10:48

Numis upgrades Countrywide to 'add' from 'hold'

(ShareCast News) - Countrywide's shares jumped on Thursday as Numis upgraded its rating to 'add' from 'hold' despite a profit warning from the real estate agent. The company warned that 2016 earnings will be lower this year, as commercial and London residential transactions have stalled since Britai

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28 Jul 2016 10:08

Countrywide rebounds despite interim profit squeeze post-Brexit

(ShareCast News) - Countrywide said the slowdown in the housing market has worsened since June's Brexit vote, sending half-year profits in the estate agent shooting down but lifting its shares as investors had feared it would be even worse. Directors warned that full year earnings before interest, t

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21 Jul 2016 15:03

UK Earnings, Trading Statements Calendar - Next 7 Days

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13 Jul 2016 09:21

UBS launches coverage of UK estate agents

(ShareCast News) - UBS initiated coverage of the UK estate agent sector on Wednesday, with Foxtons and Savills at 'buy', Countrywide at 'neutral' and Purplebricks at 'sell'. The Swiss bank, which expects UK wide housing transactions to fall 6% this year and 5% the next - with a 10 drop in London in

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13 Jul 2016 08:33

BROKER RATINGS SUMMARY: UBS Says Buy Foxtons And Sell Purplebricks

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13 Jul 2016 07:25

LONDON BRIEFING: Pound And Poundland Gain As May Set To Enter No 10

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29 Jun 2016 14:39

UPDATE: BROKER RATINGS SUMMARY: Buy Wolseley, Sell Berkeley - Goldman

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28 Jun 2016 16:16

Tuesday broker round-up:

(ShareCast News) - Just Eat: Goldman Sachs reiterates buy with a target price of 670p. G4S: Credit Suisse keeps at outperform with a 210p target. Bellway: Goldman Sachs keeps at neutral with a target price of 1715p. Northgate: Numis reiterates to buy with a target of 500p. Babcock: Credit Suisse

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28 Jun 2016 09:24

Goldman adjusts ratings on UK housebuilders after Brexit

(ShareCast News) - Following the UK's decision to leave the European Union, Goldman Sachs expects new build volumes in UK housing to drop 10% next year, versus a previous forecast of 7% growth and house prices to fall by 2%/5% in 2016/17. As far as the UK economy is concerned, the bank has cut its 2

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