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Mr Brett estimated the gross development value of the residential alone as being "north of £50m". The company is now in the process of obtaining the necessary finance to fund these developments. Broker comments Duncan Hall, analyst with house broker Finncap, has a 'buy' recommendation with a price target of 28p on the stock. In an exclusive interview with Sharecast Hall explained: "The site is on the books for £8.8m and there will be a couple of million pounds uplift from having gained planning permission. The next issue is how to unwind it? They have the option to sell off the consented land or they have the option to develop on their own, similar to what they are doing at Farnborough Queensgate and what they plan to do at Drayton Garden Village."

Inland Homes has gained planning permission for 268 residential homes and a commercial space in Lower Hamworthy in Poole. The development application is for a range of housing, which includes: 68 one-bedroom flats, 125 two-bedroom flats, 2 two-bedroom houses, 64 three-bedroom houses and 9 four-bedroom houses. In addition there will b an electricity sub-station, a foul water pumping station, 436 car parking spaces and a 108,000 sq ft of commercial space. The Aim-listed company has traditionally specialised in getting planning consent for brownfield land but has also started to move into development. In this instance, it plans to develop about one-third to half of the site itself, selling on the rest of the site to developers. Paul Brett, Inland's Land Director explained to Sharecast: "We will undertake all site preparation and infrastructure ourselves. In addition, we intend to build approximately half the site ourselves, while potentially selling off other phases to developers. Developing elements of the project ourselves will enable Inland to capture the additional development margin which can range from 15% to 20%."

Panmure Gordon has raised its target price for house builder Berkeley Group from 1,390p to 1,650p, saying that first-half profits were "ahead of what we were looking for at this stage". However, a 'hold' rating on the stock was maintained by Panmure, with the broker saying that the shares look "up with events".

Investec has raised its price target for cosmetic products group PZ Cussons from 300p to 335p after the firm confirmed that it is to return to profit growth in the first half. However, the broker kept its 'hold' rating, saying that much depends on how Nigeria (described as "fragile" by PZ Cussons) performs in the second half.

Direct Line's share price has risen 15 per cent since floating at 175p, helped by demand from index-tracking funds ahead of its inclusion in the FTSE 100 index next week. The shares now trade at over 1.2 times JPMorgan Cazenove's forecasts for end-2012 net tangible assets of 164p. That leaves them rated in line with shares in Beazley and Catlin, which are significantly more profitable underwriters and, by virtue of their exposure to catastrophe-related business lines, are seeing their premium rates harden. Given the tough motor market conditions that Direct Line faces, that's a demanding share rating that will prove hard to maintain once buying from the index trackers runs its course..........always dyor gl

Direct Line doesn't seem to be coping as well as its rivals. It barely broke even at the underwriting level in the nine months to end-September with a combined ratio of 99.7 per cent. Yet Admiral reported a decently profitable 95.2 per cent combined ratio for the first half of 2012 and RSA, which has a significant UK motor book, reported a 96 per cent ratio with its third-quarter figures. Analysts at investment bank JPMorgan Cazenove don't expect Direct Line to generate a similar combined ratio until after 2015. That said, management is targeting £100m of gross annual cost savings by end-2014, which should help to support profits, and the group's investment portfolio, which is focused on safe-looking bonds and cash, yielded a 3.1 per cent return for the nine months to end September. That’s in line with the returns generated by most insurers. Dividend prospects look good, too, with analysts at broker Investec Securities expecting 2013's payout to generate a 6.3 per cent yield on the current share price; although shares in other underwriters yield something similar right now.

When Royal Bank of Scotland floated 35 per cent of shares in insurer Direct Line (DLG) in October, demand was high. The offer was quickly oversubscribed and retail investors eventually snapped up shares worth £125m. But the success of the flotation shouldn't obscure Direct Line's weak trading prospects. The worry is that these are poor enough to wipe off the share price gains to date. Direct Line's biggest business is motor cover, which generates 43 per cent of its gross premiums. But the UK motor market has been lossmaking for years. Accountancy firm Deloitte reckons that in 2010 in aggregate UK motor insurers generated a combined ratio of 120 per cent. In other words, they lost money - for every £100 of premium income they brought in, they paid £120 in claims. Insurers have been trying to rectify that lossmaking situation by boosting motor premium rates. According to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), these rose 12 per cent in 2010 and 9 per cent in 2011. Such rate increases, says Deloitte, meant the sector's combined ratio had improved to a less painful 106 per cent in 2011. But fierce competition among insurers means that rates have slid since then. Price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com revealed that average UK motor rates slumped 10.6 per cent in the year to spring 2012, and that pressure looks set to persist. Matters won't be helped by the OFT's decision in September to refer UK motor insurance pricing to the Competition Commission. The OFT reckons that "competition appears not to be working in the private motor insurance market. The insurers of at-fault drivers appear to have little control over the bills they must pay, and this may be leading to higher costs for them and ultimately higher premiums for motorists". That probe may take up to two years and could result in lower premiums - bad news for the motor insurers' long-term profitability.

Unlike most of its rivals, whose share prices now trade well above net asset value, shares in Bovis hover around net assets (see table). That discount to other housebuilders looks unjustified. True, the dividend yield is not exactly exciting, but Bovis's payout is still playing catch-up, and analysts at Deutsche Bank reckon that by next year the payout will have risen fourfold since 2010. With more sites coming on stream next year, helped by greater use of cheap land and rising selling prices, Bovis looks set to deliver another year of progress......but as always dyor and gl

To service this demand, Bovis has been busy buying more land. In the second half of 2012 it acquired 2,331 consented plots on 16 sites and, most important, a majority are in the south-east of England where the housing market is resilient. Another 1,000 plots on eight sites with planning permission are in the final stages of acquisition. In addition, in the first half Bovis added 1,037 consented plots on eight sites for £64m. These plots, three-quarters of which are also in the south-east, could generate £239m at current sales prices and, after deducting building costs, deliver gross profits of £61m - a gross margin of 25.4 per cent. While most land purchases are for consented sites, Bovis has also been adding to its 'strategic' land bank from which it selects sites and takes them through the planning procedures. At the end of June these plots numbered 19,829 - enough for over eight years' of output at current rates. Spending this sort of money means that the £22m net cash position reported at the half-year turned into a net debt of £65m by last month. However, Bovis's bosses reckon the group will have net cash by the end of the year. And they are keen to use the group's capital better - making greater use of acquiring land on deferred terms and keeping a tight control on costs; and where they get really good offers, they will sell sites with planning consent.

Shares in Bovis Homes (BVS) have underperformed their rivals this year. While their price is up 27 per cent, this is lacklustre compared with price rises in, say, Persimmon (up 70 per cent) and Barratt Developments (up 112 per cent). Meanwhile, Bovis's share price still hovers around its underlying net asset value. So there should still be plenty of catching up to do. Bovis's trading has been perfectly acceptable. Pre-tax profits in the first half of 2012 doubled to £16.2m and the interim dividend was doubled to 3p per share. And there remains room to raise the payout as it was covered nearly three times by after-tax earnings. Operating profit margins climbed from 7.5 per cent to 10.3 per cent, and management is pencilling in 13 per cent for the full year. True, the rarified margins of 22 per cent achieved in 2007 before the housing market collapsed may not be seen again for a generation, but they give an idea of the scope for further improvement. The big drivers behind rising profits are greater use of cheap land bought after the market collapsed and a steady increase in house prices - up from £180,100 on average last year to around £190,000 by the third quarter. Bovis has also been increasing the number of sales outlets, up 12 per cent to 83. It plans to have 90 selling sites by the end of the year, and 105 in 2013. Net reservations per site per week at 0.46 homes are up slightly from 0.45 a year earlier. However, the UK mortgage market remains tough, despite incentive schemes to help buyers on to the first rung of the housing ladder. Yet first-time buyers only account for a quarter of new homes sold and solid demand from existing homeowners meant that, by the end of the third quarter, Bovis had secured sufficient reservations to meet its 2012 sales targets; completions in the 45 weeks to 9 November were up from 1,517 a year earlier to 1,669. Management reckons the figure will have risen to around 2,350 by the end of the year.

After their fall, RPC's shares now trade at nine times forecast earnings. That looks cheap for a company that has delivered impressive growth. In the period 2007-12 growth in basic earnings was 21 per cent a year compound and in dividends it was 17 per cent. Sure those rates will be tough to maintain and analysts only forecast dividend growth of 4 per cent a year from here. But dividends are well covered by earnings, so RPC should not have to do anything special to hit that target. Packaging is a cyclical business and RPC has flagged that it is going to have a tough second half, but that looks fully in the share price..........gl all.

However, while RPC's sales volumes are falling - down 3 per cent in the first half - management is shifting the focus towards higher-margin products where there is better growth. Think of moving from making margarine tubs to making capsules for the fast-growing market for s****y coffee-making machines. So, despite the tough backdrop and the one-off costs, the underlying business is improving; adjusted operating profits rose 4 per cent to £47m and margins climbed from 7.7 per cent to 9.1 per cent. RPC also announced a new two-year cost-saving plan, 'Fitter for the Future'. Management says that, even if trading volumes stay flat, the programme will deliver £4m profit improvement this year, £10m next year, reaching £12m per year in two years' time. This won't come cheap - there is a price tag of around £30m in exceptional costs, including £15m of cash costs, with the majority coming in the second half of this year.

Shares in RPC (RPC) plunged 11 per cent as the company announced a sharp fall in profits and investors fretted about its exposure to the eurozone. But, underneath the headline figures, operating profitability is improving and, as the plastics packaging group announces another two-year cost reduction plan, we think the sharp correction could present a good opportunity to buy the shares. For a company with a strong track record of exceeding the City's expectations, the results for the half-year to end September were a shock. Revenue fell 12 per cent to £518m and reported pre-tax profits were down from £35m to £22m. Stockbroker Panmure Gordon responded by reducing forecasts for the full year from £86.3m to £83.5m (giving EPS of 37.9p) and for 2013-14 from £92.5m to £90.1m (EPS of 40.9p). There is no doubt conditions are tough for RPC as it makes 64 per cent of its money in Europe and the value of the euro slumped between last year's first half and this year's, hitting profits reported in sterling. RPC is also pushing through a major restructuring plan to adapt the business to reduced volumes. A site at Runcorn in the north-west was closed, but further restructuring was needed to integrate its £205m acquisition of Superfos, which makes injection-moulded containers. As a result, exceptional costs were up sharply from £4.1m to £18.5m

For Wood Group (WG.) cash flow is certainly king. In October the oil sector services company said that it expected to deliver strong cash flow and good growth for the remainder of the year, and added that it expected to deliver a full year performance in line with expectations. Indeed, the only real cloud on the fundamental horizon came from Oman where a contract there is expected to lose up to $20m for the year.

At the beginning of September, a sell bet in financial bookmaker IG Group (IGG) appeared prudent as third quarter 2012 revenues slumped to £81.5m compared to £99.6m for the same period in 2011. Added to this the number of active clients in the UK fell by 16%, but even this exceptionally poor set of results wasn’t enough to prevent significant director share purchases towards the end of October. If the trading statement shows that this decline has been arrested or at least is slowing, then the shares may have reached a turning point.

A positive read across boosted shares of equipment hire group Ashtead (AHT) in October, when Seymour Pierce reiterated its buy recommendation and raised its target price to 400p from 350p. The broker said that with U.S. construction confidence reaching its highest level since 2006 and a top of the range set of third quarter results from United Rentals, one of Ashtead’s main U.S. competitors, the outlook for Ashtead’s U.S. business was bullish. More of the same in this week’s announcement should see further progress for the share price.

Orosur Mining Orosur Mining Inc. Announces Production Update ... Orosur Mining Inc. Announces Production Update – Full Year Production Remains on Track Orosur Mining Inc Orosur Mining Inc. (“Orosur” or the "Company") (TSX: OMI) (LSE: OMI) today announces that its production for the second quarter ended 30 November, 2012 was 13,970 ounces and the Company remains on track to achieve its forecast production target of 63,000 to 68,000 ounces for the full year. The Company notes that the development of the Arenal Deeps ramp is on track for completion during the quarter ending 28th February 2013 with 352 meters completed during the second quarter. As at 30 November 2012, 180 metres of development remain to be completed (out of a total of 1,990 metres). Completion of the ramp will enable the Company to access higher grade ore at Arenal Deeps in the last quarter of the financial year ending 31 May 2013.

Orosur Mining Orosur Mining Inc. Announces Production Update ... Orosur Mining Inc. Announces Production Update – Full Year Production Remains on Track Orosur Mining Inc Orosur Mining Inc. (“Orosur” or the "Company") (TSX: OMI) (LSE: OMI) today announces that its production for the second quarter ended 30 November, 2012 was 13,970 ounces and the Company remains on track to achieve its forecast production target of 63,000 to 68,000 ounces for the full year. The Company notes that the development of the Arenal Deeps ramp is on track for completion during the quarter ending 28th February 2013 with 352 meters completed during the second quarter. As at 30 November 2012, 180 metres of development remain to be completed (out of a total of 1,990 metres). Completion of the ramp will enable the Company to access higher grade ore at Arenal Deeps in the last quarter of the financial year ending 31 May 2013. For further information, please contact: Orosur Mining Inc + 562 9246800 David Fowler Chief Executive Officer dfowler@orosur.ca or Ignacio Salazar Chief Financial Officer isalazar@orosur.ca or Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker) Rob Collins / Andrew Chubb, +44 (0) 20 7523 8000 or Seymour Pierce (Joint Broker) Stewart Dickson / Jeremy Stephenson +44 (0) 20 7107 8000 or Blythe Weigh Communications (Public Relations and Investor Relations) +44 (0) 20 7138 3204 or Paul Weigh, +44 (0) 7989 129658 or Robert Kellner, +44 (0) 7800 554377 About Orosur Mining Inc. Orosur Mining Inc. is a fully integrated gold producer and exploration company focused on identifying and developing gold projects in Latin America. The Company operates the only producing gold mine in Uruguay (San Gregorio), and has assembled an exploration portfolio of high quality assets in Uruguay and Chile. The Company is quoted in Canada (TSX: OMI) and London (AIM: OMI).

Motion capture specialist OMG hailed a 'straightforwardly good 12 months' as revenues and profits came in above market expectations. Group revenue was up by 11.9% to £29.5m, while adjusted profit before tax almost tripled to £3.0m. The company proposed increasing its dividend by 17% to 0.35p after saying its 2d3 defence business delivered a maiden adjusted profit of £0.8m Its Vicon division installed more systems and cameras than ever before with profits rising from £3.8m to £5.6m. It had some high profile successes with Vicon's technology being used in the film Avengers Assemble as well as computer game "Call of Duty: Black Ops II". Yotta, the firm's highways, software and services business, reported a loss of £0.3m. New consumer division, OMG Life, opened a new avenue for growth, the firm said, but investment costs meant it made a £1.2m loss over the year. Chairman Rchard Soley said the firm entered its new financial year with cautious optimism, excited, in particular, by the prospects for OMG Life and 2d3. "We believe our strategy of market-focused diversification will enable the group to deliver on the board's expectations for the year ahead," he said.

Heritage Oil, an independent upstream exploration and production company, has enlarged its stake in PetroFrontier with the purchase of 1.8m common shares. The shares, which were purchased for CDN$166,320, are equal to 2.27% of the outstanding shares and will take the group's stake to 17.58%. The company also holds 2.3m warrants of PetroFrontier, which are convertible to 2.3m shares on exercise. If exercised Heritage will own about 19.91% of the outstanding shares of PetroFrontier.