Oh dear, two large companies combine and, like an intergalactic "event" only negative matter remains....a case of 1 + 1 = 0.2

Let me say - sp a year ago was 10x today's - so this business has earned its place in the 90% club....and maybe more to come, as they will need to go overseas for cash, if the UK is dry.

I doubt there is a UK Builder with enough dosh to bail-out this dullard. They all thought they could expand until the UK burst with immigrants - yet they consistently went for pricier properties and projects where ( even now), there is some doubt whether there are enough jobs to support new-build developments.

EDIT ( Nov 2015 ) - Seven years on and we're at 183p - so anyone that bought at the all-time Low has done very well - but the Market was fearful and that meant few were Buying. 2009/2010 averaged about 40p - that was a good time if you had the LT cash.
With the rise and yield-multiplier effect, this is looking like Buying it was "probably" inspired.... but it has not regained that earlier Value - which will surely take a lot longer.

George ,everyone is talking about house prices ,i think its if the banks lend and they sell thats more important than if prices go up , so you may be right when you say "where the demand will come from" . I'm not expecting to make a killing in the next few weeks.

RNS Shroders shareholding increased to 6%.

Internal e-mail pased around TW. lifted from ample site....

Dear All,

You may be aware of the recent announcement from the Homes and Communities Agency concerning the Delivery Partner Panels for England that they have recently tendered. There are three panels North, Midlands and South and I am pleased to confirm that Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd has been appointed to all three panels. This is a great achievement, as the Government were looking for new entrants mainly contractors to come into the industry and only two developers Barratt and ourselves were appointed to all three panels.

The purpose of the panels is to streamline development of publicly owned land panel members will be made available to Local Authorities, Regional Development Agencies and other public bodies for the development of new housing through the Local Authority New Build and Public Land Initiative Programmes, as well as for HCA/Government land.

Being a member of all three panels will allow us to access publicly owned land that will not be on the open market we will still need to tender each project, however the schemes will only be available to those appointed to the panels and margins and some rates have been pre-agreed.

There was considerable work undertaken by many people within the organisation to put us in a position to be appointed.

We are now in a good position to tap into a source of land which I hope will benefit many parts of the business. Further details of how the panels will operate will be issued in the near future.

I attach a link to the official announcement for your information.

http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/one-stop-shop.htm

This may well be good news but I doubt it will be enough to stop the sp (41.64p) falling further (including other housebuilders). Despite all the so called experts/analysts buy recommendations for TW. the sp has failed to reach the April and August levels. I still remain in the bearish camp for TW. and housebuiders generally.
2517

very SOLID statement.....

Taylor Wimpey sees continuing stabilisation
Mon 18 Jan 2010

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said market conditions in both the UK and North America during 2009 were better than those experienced during the previous year, although they still remained challenging.

The group expects to report full year results for the year ended 31 December in line with forecasts.

Year end net debt was about 750m, in line with the groups recently upgraded guidance and substantially below the 1,529m at 31 December 2008.

Our UK business has maintained its encouraging performance since our Interim Management Statement in November and we enter 2010 with a very strong order book position, up 28% by volume compared to the end of 2008, said the group.

In North America, we are encouraged by the prolonged period of stability we have experienced since early 2009, it added.

However, market conditions are likely to remain challenging in Spain during 2010.

Sector peers Bovis, Barratt Developments and Persimmon have all recently released relatively upbeat trading statements, though all remain cautious on prospects for 2010.

Full Trading Statement

BRIEF-Taylor Wimpey says reduces debt to 750 mln stg
18 Jan 2010 - 07:09

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Taylor Wimpey Plc : * Expects to report full year results in line with its expectations * Completed a total of 10,186 homes in 2009 (FY 2008: 13,394) * Enter 2010 with a very strong order book position. * Increased our private order book by 62% to 3,048 homes * Our year end net debt was c.750 million * We do not anticipate making any further material adjustments to land values

((London Equities Newsroom; +44 20 7542 7717))

Solid statement but sp going down. Why is this???

Hylo - read here.

So TW. will drop further??? As statement not so solid after all.


The fall in debt was in part driven by improving house prices which increased during 2009 as market conditions stabilised, rising by 7,000 in the second half of the year to 160,000. However, the annual figure was lower than 2008, when the average price across the UK was 171,000. Prices for affordable homes remained broadly flat, at 108,000 in 2009, the same as in 2008.

Although prices rose in the second half of the year, the number of homes completed by Taylor Wimpey last year was down on 2008. The company finished 10,186 homes in 2009, a fall from 13,394 in 2008, with a decrease in both affordable homes and private completions.

Commenting on the year ahead, Taylor Wimpey warned that although current market conditions had improved and are currently stable, the risks of further weakness in the wider economy and reduced mortgage availability remain. The company expects its full year results for 2009, which will be announced on March 3, to be in line with expectations.

In December, Norman Askew, the chairman of Taylor Wimpey, announced that he would be stepping down by the end of 2010.

Although I hold TW for the long term, I am sceptical of this housing interest being continued for very long in the medium period.

I wish the SP would show the same enthusiasm!

LONDON (Reuters) - Rising buyer interest and low levels of supply pushed property asking prices in England and Wales up an annual 4.1 percent in January, property website Rightmove said on Monday.
On a non-seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, prices rose 0.4 percent, reversing part of December's 2.2 percent decline.
Search activity on Rightmove's website hit a record high in the first full week of the year with 157.4 million pages viewed, 26 percent higher on the same period a year ago.
"The rise in asking prices is an early indicator that new sellers in 2010 have the confidence to try for a higher price," said Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director.
He said the factors that contributed to the market's recovery in 2009 looked to strengthen in the short term, despite an election less than five months away.
But Rightmove said higher interest rates and government spending cutbacks later in the year could sap the market's upward momentum.
In London, which has led the country's house price recovery, property asking prices rose 2.3 percent on the month and 5.5 percent on the year.
Rightmove forecast property prices in the capital would rise by 5 percent during 2010 but would show zero growth in England and Wales as a whole.
(Reporting by Christina Fincher; Editing by Toby Chopra)

The market seems to be accepting the report a little more generously now. That is if one can believe quote b/s and prices. Intraday trending up.

Anybody looking at real time order book?

Bit of a bounce the last few days , wonder if it will hold this time .

No!

Broker comment from Charles Stanley:
"Investors who like a bit of danger might consider Taylor Wimpey 'for its management, aggressive writedowns (again), the bounce back potential from its higher but not excessive gearing, and the potential from its large N.American business which could generate cash via a sale or could provide exposure to a strong US housing recovery, if/when that happens,' the broker concludes."

Meltdown in the markets ,,shame as this seem to have some legs in it..

US markets in jeopardy and Spain in record bad debts are especially bad news for Taylor Wimpey now.

Took ages to climb back up and a few days to dump :-(

Recommendation : Medium Term BUY:
Target Price 50p
Ticker TW
Share Price 37p
Market Value 1.2bn
PE Ratio n/a
Dividend Yield n/a


Article :

The company was formed through the merger
of George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow in
March 2007. The merger made Taylor Wimpey
the UKs biggest housebuilder and the fifth
largest in the world.

The financial crisis almost triggered the collapse
of the company. Management has spent the
last couple of years in survival mode. Offices
have been closed, jobs have been cut and new
developments and land acquisitions put on
hold.

The balance sheet has absorbed around 2
billion of write downs in an attempt to clear the
decks, with the land bank marked down by over
1 billion.

The balance sheet looks a lot healthier now.
Lenders agreed to refinance the debt and a
share placing at 25p raised over 500 million of
new equity. Debt stood at 750m at the end of
2009, down from 1.7 billion in mid 2008.

Now debt is more manageable, Taylor Wimpey
is waiting for a recovery in the housing market.
Low interest rates have helped prevent
foreclosures and stabilised prices but volumes
have yet to take off.

As many mortgage advisors will testify, demand is not the problem,
getting a mortgage is the problem. Housing
activity has always been driven by the supply of
credit and until banks are willing and able to
lend, then credit will remain tight. Cheap loans
are only available to the select few who have
big deposits and strong credit ratings. The
average buyer cant access the cheap deals.

The housing recovery is facing some headwinds
over the near term. The UK recession may have
officially ended, but unemployment lags the
economy, so the job market isnt expected to
improve until later this year. As interest rates
cant be cut further and inflation is on the rise,
the only way will be up for interest rates. Then
of course theres the UK budget deficit, which is
being ignored until after the general election.

Regardless of who gets in, taxes will also be
going up.

For these reasons, theres not much
improvement expected this year or next. Sales
volumes should rise as mortgage lending
gradually improves but Taylor Wimpey is
forecast to be loss making in 2010.

Recent trading suggests theres plenty of up
pent-up demand. Taylor Wimpeys order book
at the end of 2009 was up 28% by volume
compared to the prior year. While site visits and
reservations are encouraging, large incentives
are still needed to tempt buyers.

This continues to bite into profits.
The US division is the looking the healthiest. In
terms of recovery it looks like a case of first infirst
out for the US housing market as
conditions stabilised around a year ago. The
improving US market has prompted talk that
Taylor Wimpey might even float or sell its US
arm. Investment bank, JP Morgan Cazenove,
has been hired to look into the matter. If
successful, the cash raised could even make
Taylor Wimpey debt free.

We believe a demerger of the US arm would
be taken as a big positive by the market.
Taylor Wimpey wont go ahead unless the price
is right. An obvious motivation is to free it from
the shackles of its lenders. Under its current
borrowing terms, Taylor Wimpey has
restrictions on new land purchases.

Being debt
free would give Taylor Wimpey the freedom to
build up its land bank while prices have taken a
knock.

While a return to profit looks some way off, one
of the attractions of Taylor Wimpey shares is
their asset backing.

Our view is that the land bank has been
marked down to conservative levels.
The tangible net assets per share have fallen
from 274p in 2007, to 158p in 2008, and were
down to 44p at the half way point in 2009. The
next update will be given with the full year
results on the 3rd March.

As the balance sheet has been greatly
strengthened, Taylor Wimpey shouldnt need to
raise more capital or sell land. The market
seems to be pricing in significantly more asset
write-downs and/or trading losses as Taylor
Wimpey shares are trading at a 15% discount
to the most recently reported net asset value.
However Taylor Wimpey is not alone in this
respect.

Persimmons shares are trading at a
20% discount and Barratts at a 50% discount
to their reported net asset value.

There is clearly upside potential across the sector should
the markets pessimism prove overdone.

The economic headwinds (rising unemployment
and taxes) and jittery bond markets (threat of
rising rates) have knocked all the listed house
builders since September last year. The
technicals look weak across the sector given
the lack of support and clear downtrend.

For investors with a medium term perspective,
Taylor Wimpey shares look good value.

Galvan Research

Jimmy B, What was the date of that article? Please.