Share issue to boost Galliford Try housing

Galliford Try has announced a UK£ 126 million (€ 143 million) rights issue following the announcement of a net loss for the year to 30 June. The fresh capital will be used to expand its house building businesses in the southern UK, increase its land bank and bolster its construction division.

The new shares will be made available to existing share holders on a 7 for 6 basis, at a price of UK£ 2.85 (€ 3.22), which implies a discount of -39% from the company's closing price prior to the announcement. A share consolidation programme will follow this, with the new shares being incorporated into the company's existing capital on a 1 for 10 basis.

Results

The announcement of the share issue came as Galliford Try announced revenues of UK£ 1.46 billion (€ 1,65 billion) for the year ending 30 June. This represented a -20% fall on the previous year's sales of UK£ 1,83 billion (€ 2,08 billion).

Operating profit was down -63% to UK£ 31,2 million (€ 35,5 million) and after exceptional items Galliford Try made a post-tax loss of UK£ 26.9 million (€ 30,6 million). Write-downs on housing related assets accounted for the bulk of this exceptional charge.

Commenting on the results, chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said, "Having positioned ourselves to be able to respond when activity in the housing market resumed, we are encouraged by the continuation of the improvement over the summer and we now plan to recommence our growth strategy in house building."