MAR is capitalising on the governments new schemes to build affordable housing, not a large player with a market cap of around £35m, but making a profit.dyor.

Tipped in the express for 2014 - Housebuilder Mar City (97½p) had a stunning 2013 and looks set to reap further benefits from a housing market supported by low interest rates. The firm, with a market value of £106million, recently acquired eight plots in the Midlands and raised £35million to boost its land bank.

Good support at this level, but hoping for a bounce when it hits the 200 DMA.

SP going like a train today 114p

Up 11% well done to all connections.

Trading Update
Mar City (AIM: MAR.L) the London and Midlands focused house builder today announces its trading update ahead of its final results for the year ended 31 December 2013.
Summary 2013
· Following a strong performance in the second half of the year, revenues will be in line with market expectations, a significant increase on the prior year and underpinned by contracted developments in the period.

· Increase in revenues has been generated from the ten contracts in place covering 648 new houses and apartments that have a combined contract value of £56 million of which approximately £35 million has now been delivered. The remaining £21 million is now expected to be delivered in 2014.

· Overall margins are expected to be materially ahead of market expectations and as a consequence the overall result for the year is now expected to be significantly ahead of expectations.

Outlook for 2014
· Successful land acquisitions for a total consideration of £30.8 million at the end of 2013 have secured over 500 housing units across eight sites, with four sites already under development.

· Strong new sales pipeline, benefitting from the 'Help to Buy' scheme which is helping first time buyers, young professionals and families into home ownership.

· Additional equity funding increased cash balances by a net £28 million which will be used to acquire additional new land during 2014 and a number of negotiations are already well advanced for sites in London, the South East and the Midlands.

Commenting, Tony Ryan, CEO of Mar City plc, said:
"Mar City performed very strongly during 2013, operating efficiencies have delivered improved margins and as a consequence results for the year are ahead of market expectations.
"The successful fund raising and acquisitions secured at the end of 2013 provides a strong pipeline of new residential developments and we have continued to make very good progress in the short period since. This platform and improving market conditions underpin our confidence for 2014 which will mark a transformational period for Mar City as we continue to benefit from the growth in demand for high quality new homes for the private and public sector.
"We continue to bring more first time buyers, young professionals and families into home ownership,, supported by a strong allocation under the Help to Buy scheme, and we remain dedicated in our strategy to maintain the high standard of the Mar City home to our customers.
"We look forward to reporting further progress as we work through the current year with further new developments coming on stream and we will continue to enhance the Group's land bank with acquisitions of sites in London, the South East and the Midlands."

Slow & steady, but all time high at 130p.

Property shares up 5% today.

Possible breakout.

Mar City (AIM: MAR.L) the London and Midlands focused housebuilder is pleased to announce that it has acquired land, which will add a further 622 plots to its land bank.

The Company has signed contracts (the "Contracts") for an aggregate value of approximately £17.8m million, which will add 622 plots and a retail unit to its land bank, for the following sites:

· Cranford Street, Smethwick in the Midlands - 142 units of family housing.
· New Malden, London - 80 units consisting mainly of apartments and ground floor retail unit.
· Hall Green Road, Sandwell - 250 units of family housing.
· Darkhouse Lane, Dudley - 150 units of family housing.

The additional 622 units acquired will add to the 512 units acquired in December 2013, moving the current land bank to c. 1,100 units. With a strong balance sheet and cash and debt facilities, the Company is well positioned to secure additional sites in the coming year. There is a strong pipeline and the Company are seeking to acquire at least 2,000 plots this year, which would create a land bank of at least 3 years, by the end of the current year.

Final results for the year ended 31 December 2013

· Strong performance in 2013, with significant growth in revenue and profits.

o Revenue up 177% with work progressing on all 10 contracts previously announced.

o Underlying operating profits* increased to £3,555k, generating a return of 14.3% on turnover.

o Underlying PBT * increased by 251% to £3,432k.

o Reported PBT (after exceptional costs of acquisition) increased to £3,221k.

o Net assets increased from £1.3m to £65.7m, with strong net cash position of £17.0m.



· Transformational fund raise and land acquisition completed.

o The land acquisition of £30.8 million secured over 500 housing units across eight sites, with four sites already under development and now generating sales completions.

o The new equity funding secured in December increased cash balances by a net £27.8 million which will be used to acquire additional land in 2014.


Outlook for 2014

· Strong new sales pipeline, benefitting from the 'Help to Buy' scheme which is helping first time buyers, young professionals and families into home ownership.



· Additional equity funding increased cash balances by a net £27.8 million which will be used to acquire additional land during 2014 and a number of negotiations are already well advanced for sites in London, the South East and the Midlands.

o Following the fund raise Mar City has acquired 622 further plots across London and the Midlands, as announced today.
o Strong pipeline with a target of at least 2,000 plots this year, which would create a land bank of at least of 3 years, by the end of the current year.


· Significant levels of reservations already taken in 2014, with completions generating cash and revenues, giving confidence that the significant growth forecast for 2014 can be delivered.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4778452

152p. Lovely chart.

and went down to 129.50p yesterday

is on the bounce today now 131 - 134p +3p

Most builders are moving higher today, good update from TW.

on the move 2 MM on the higher bid 132p for 1 at offer 135p

The stock had a late rally to 134.50p +5p

Market Report

Housing, mining shares rise

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey gave a bullish outlook on Tuesday with a "new and enhanced set of financial targets" as the housing market goes from strength to strength. The company also said it will return at least £200m of cash per year from 2016 on top of the £50m special dividend in July 2014 and £200m in July 2015.

Others in the sector were also given a boost by the comments, such as Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Crest Nicholson.

A couple of early buyers got the MM at offer move higher

such minuscule volume here, which must surely make the share prone to some ludicrous and unpredictable or even unwarranted swings

think i'll stick with TW and PAG :-)

Mar City (AIM: MAR.L), the London and Midlands housebuilder, is holding its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") today at 11.30am at the Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane, London, W1J 7DR.

At the AGM Tony Ryan, the Chief Executive of Mar City PLC will make the following statement:

"We are delighted with the strong levels of activity that we are seeing in terms of both sales and reservations during the current year and we believe that the trading outlook for the year as a whole remains very positive, with increasing levels of activity across all sites currently under development.

Launch of Modular Construction Methods
I am also very pleased to report that Mar City launched its first modular development, featuring 102 apartments in the up and coming area of Colindale in London on 15th May 2014. This development, which is already 80% pre-sold, showcased Mar City's new, groundbreaking modern method of construction, which was enthusiastically received by everyone who attended.

This modular method of construction is the culmination of significant R&D within Mar City and allows the building of quality affordable homes for both the private and public sectors to be constructed in a factory environment. In turn this allows the homes to be built up to three times faster than a traditional housebuild, saving time and labour costs whilst producing a build quality at least equal to, if not better than traditional methods, with a high energy efficiency rating and lower environmental footprint.

This innovative new concept has taken Mar City almost a decade to develop and whilst modern construction methods have been used in other industries, modular systems have never before been viable in residential house building on a volume scale. This is believed to be a first for the UK market and our methods are already receiving critical acclaim.

The Company is currently scheduled for a number of additional sites to move into the development stage in the second half of the year utilising this ground breaking concept.

Land Acquisitions
Mar City has also concluded the acquisition of a further 112 plots across 4 sites in London and the Midlands for an aggregate value of £6.47m. We are continuing to comfortably attain our target intake margins on new land and as a result we will continue to build our land bank and are already well on the way to acquiring our target of at least 3,000 plots this year, which would create a land bank of 3 years by the end of the year.

Outlook
We are delighted with the progress already made this year and foresee further strong progress in the Company's trading performance in the second half as we benefit from the high levels of interest in Mar City's open market sales developments.

given the need for low-cost starter homes, i can see the argument for buying into this company

however
it is very illiquid (joke volumes) and MM only

i therefore wonder if the likes of BDEV are not a better bet


i think i am right in saying that panto comes from a different angle which relates to short-term share movement rather than what a specific company does

Trading Update
Mar City (AIM: MAR.L), the London and Midlands housebuilder, announces its trading update for the six month period ended 30 June 2014 ahead of its expected half year announcement in September 2014.

Current Trading
Mar City is delighted to report that it has made excellent progress in the first half of the year, successfully executing its strategy of delivering high quality new homes in its core geographies of the Midlands, London and the South East. During the period the Company has delivered further significant growth, with completions tracking comfortably in line with internal budgets and we have increasing confidence for the full year as we move into the second half.

One of Mar City's aspirations is to change the way that new homes are constructed and bring housebuilding into the 21st Century. Accordingly, Mar City launched its first groundbreaking modular construction development,'Green Point' in Collindale, North London in May. This 102 apartment site is on schedule for completion in September with 80 apartments already pre-sold with the remainder due for open market sale in due course.

The Company also commenced its second site using the modular technology for the construction of new houses at its Leamore development in the Midlands, which is already receiving strong levels of pre-market interest. As part of this development, the Company has successfully demonstrated the construction of two semi-detached houses from foundation level up, within 3 days, which has received widespread critical acclaim. The majority of new sites will now be moved into the development stage utilising this ground-breaking modular construction methodology during the second half of the year, which will allow Mar City to significantly increase its levels of production.

The Company has also benefited from the strength in the market for new affordable homes where it has seen very strong consumer demand for its new homes which has been supported by the availability of the Governments Help to Buy scheme, particularly evident across its new developments in the Midlands.

Land Acquisitions
Since reporting to shareholders at the Company's AGM in May, Mar City has acquired control of a further 472 plots across the Midlands, London and the South East in line with management's strategy to build a 3 to 5 year land bank, whilst maintaining target intake margins on new land purchases.

Mar City continues to view a range of opportunities and will continue to build its land bank during the second half of the year and expects to achieve its target of securing a total of 3,000 plots by the end of the year.

Outlook
With increasing levels of activity across all of the Mar City's sites currently under development and the momentum in consumer demand for new affordable homes, buoyed by the recent launch of Mar City's first development employing its new modular construction methods and the subsequent high level of enquiries which has followed, the Board is confident that Mar City will deliver further significant growth in its trading performance in the second half.

Commenting, Tony Ryan, Chief Executive of Mar City, said:
"We expect to achieve further strong progress in the trading performance in the second half, particularly as the Company benefits from the high levels of interest in Mar City's current programme of open market sales developments, which are translating into progressively higher levels of reservations and private sales completions and with increasing levels of sales to Housing Associations and Social Housing Providers, where the levels of interest remain buoyant.

We have been delighted with the response to the recent launch of our new modular technology. It is an innovation which we believe will continue to receive critical acclaim and we have been extremely pleased with the enthusiasm it has already received from within the industry and from our commercial partners, as they recognise how innovation can help improve the speed of production, overcome the issues of skills shortages and accelerate the rate at which quality new homes can be introduced into the UK housing market."

Big bounce from the 200 DMA, hopefully.