Anybody trading in these shares? I just bought some @ 204.72

Flogging off the crown jewels to prop up the rest of the company. This is a disaster company.

Still might be interesting to CLLN but at much reduced terms than originally proposed. CLLN must be breathing a sigh of relief having failed in it's earlier merger proposal.

Any views on post 311?

I assume they are 'Cumulative preferred'?
I've never tried to trade preference shares, so would have to do some research. They come without voting rights, but if that were the only downside, why don't more people invest in them?

I wasn't thinking of trading them but holding to redemption.

They were available at less than 114p on Monday.

Next XD date is 19th November.

The yield to redemption allowing for the capital loss @100p redemption value is about 6.05% @115p - I'm tempted.

Are dealing costs the same as ORD stock?

Yes - I hold a few prefs.

Ex dividend this Thursday 9th 5.6p.

Prefs getting hammered this morning.

Finally bought a few prefs here @101.75p

Directorate Change

Balfour Beatty announces Leo Quinn as new Chief Executive Officer

Balfour Beatty, the leading international infrastructure group, is pleased to announce the appointment of Leo Quinn as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr Quinn will take up his new position and join the Board on 1 January 2015.

Mr Quinn joins Balfour Beatty after five years as Group Chief Executive of QinetiQ, which he has reshaped into a strong commercial competitor providing technology solutions in defence, security and aerospace. From 2004-2008 Mr Quinn created substantial value as CEO of De La Rue, the largest non-government printer of banknotes, and prior to that led a number of international business transformations as Global President of Honeywell Building Controls and COO of Production Management, the largest division of Invensys PLC.

Contract Win

BALFOUR BEATTY CHOSEN FOR US $533 MILLION PROJECT TO CONSTRUCT MAJOR NEW HOSPITAL AND TRANSFORM TEXAS MEDICAL CAMPUS

Balfour Beatty plc announces today that it has signed a US$533 million contract (£329 million) to renovate and expand the Texas Medical Center campus in Houston, Texas, USA.

This complex project for the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (MHHS) includes building a 17-storey hospital, implementing a building control system for the entire campus and ensuring all hospital services function fully throughout the four year construction timeframe, which starts imminently.

The new Hermann Pavilion 2 hospital will provide the Texas Medical Center with 24 additional operating theatres, further emergency rooms and intensive care wards, 160 new patient beds and six floors to further expand both wards and operating facilities. Connecting all building controls and fire alarm systems onto one platform for the entire campus will improve MHHS's overall control of systems and deliver significant energy consumption savings.

During its 27 year long relationship with MHHS, Balfour Beatty Construction has delivered more than 225 improvement projects.

Mark Layman, CEO of Balfour Beatty's US construction business, said: "This latest programme is a response to increasing healthcare needs as the population of the Houston area grows. A project of this complexity requires state-of-the-art construction methodology to ensure the ongoing health services are not disrupted. We will use the latest construction techniques, pre-fabricate off-site as much as possible and use digital technology to deliver this project efficiently."

Ends

StockMarketWire.com
Balfour Beatty has agreed to sell parts of its German rail business to Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group of Austria.

Balfour Beatty says the disposal continues its stated intention to divest all of its mainland European rail businesses. The transaction comprises the German track and plant and Austrian businesses. The businesses have been sold for gross proceeds of £6m, but net cash consideration will be approximately zero once the cash transferring with the business is taken into account.

Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2015 and is conditional on competition clearance.

The disposal group generated approximately £80m of revenue in 2013 with reported losses before tax, within discontinued operations, of £8m. Approximately 600 employees will transfer across with the business. Gross assets at 27 June were £36m. The disposal will result in a discontinued non-underlying loss on disposal of approximately £25m

BALFOUR BEATTY Q3 TRADING UPDATE
Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, announces its 2014 Q3 trading update, covering the period to 17 November 2014.

OVERALL TRADING
There has been no material change in trading since the last trading update on 29 September 2014.

The UK construction business continues to prioritise actions to address the issues highlighted in the September trading update. These include further overhead reductions and additional supply chain savings. The regional business continues to reduce both its exposure to smaller contracts and its number of delivery units. The independent review by KPMG of the contract portfolio within Construction Services UK is well under way, with the report expected by the end of 2014.

The remainder of the Construction Services division and the Group's other operating divisions, Support Services and Infrastructure Investments, continued to trade as expected.

In October we announced the appointment of Leo Quinn as our new Chief Executive Officer. He will take up his new position and join the Board on 1 January 2015. The processes to appoint a new non-executive Chairman and Chief Financial Officer are being actively progressed.

ORDER BOOK
At the end of the third quarter, the order book stood at £11.7 billion, flat on the half-year. The order book at the half year has been restated from the reported £13.0 billion to £11.7 billion from continuing operations, to take account of the Parsons Brinckerhoff disposal.

The Construction Services order book increased to £7.9 billion, driven largely by an increase in the US, predominantly due to foreign exchange movements, and by contracts in the UK announced in the period. This growth was offset by an expected reduction in the Support Services order book to £3.7 billion, as we continued to complete on long term contracts in both the Power and Water sectors.

DISPOSAL OF PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF
The disposal of Parsons Brinckerhoff was approved by shareholders on 28 October, with 93% of votes in favour. The disposal was completed on 31 October. The net cash consideration of US$1,242 million (£753 million) represented a multiple of 11 times underlying EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2013 and was received on 31 October.

FINANCIAL POSITION
Average net debt for the nine months to the end of September was £477 million. We expect average net debt for the full year to be approximately £400 million after taking into account the benefit of the proceeds from the sale of Parsons Brinckerhoff.

BBY Balfour Beatty looks to have based after an update yesterday that at last didnt include any nasty points. WATCH to buy if positive tomorrow.

BBY Balfour Beatty looks to have formed a base on the chart. Last results last week had no nasties 190p then 220p aim SP targets on chart.

Looking good GF - I've been watching since the last fall - I did buy the prefs @101.75p



Canaccord Genuity Hold 170.00 - 185.00 Initiates/Starts

Beat me to it again Skinny. Yep so good to see nothing nast in the last RNS.

Could be a quick riser this with all those gaps.

Merrill Lynch note:
"We are upgrading our rating on Balfour Beatty to Buy from Neutral with a 12-month SOTP-derived PO of 230p. Five profit warnings in UK Construction in the past two years have led to significant underperformance vs the sector and the stock is down 50% from its highs in February 2014. However, the balance sheet is now solid (£200mn net cash at Dec-2014E) post the sale of Parsons Brinckerhoff, and most businesses (notably PPPs and US Construction) are performing well. KPMG’s review of contracts in UK Construction is due by year-end and creates certain overhang, However, this looks priced in as to justify the current share price based on a SOTP, we would have to assume UK Construction is worth a negative £500m.

Balfour Beatty has recruited Leo Quinn – who engineered successful turnarounds at De La Rue and QinetiQ – as the new CEO, due to start on 1 January 2015. Quinn has a strong track record on working capital optimisation, reducing pension deficits and cost cutting. Management change could also be a catalyst for adopting a more focused strategy and exiting some of the loss-making businesses in the UK.

The c.£200mn net cash position we forecast at Dec-2014 equates to nearly 18% of the current market cap and represents a strong support in terms of valuation and liquidity. Headroom to covenants (3x ND/EBITDA) exceeds £500mn in 2015E.

Our SOTP for Balfour Beatty results in a PO of 230p, offering (41%) upside potential with US Construction and Support Services valued in line with listed peers and the PPP portfolio in line with BBY Director’s valuation, while disposals of PPP assets have been carried out at a premium historically. Balfour Beatty was approached by Carillion over the summer, and while talks broken down, the stock is now 30% lower and we think M&A appeal remains. At the current share price, UK Construction is valued at a negative £500mn EV. At our 230p PO, we think it would be valued at zero. Revision of our earnings estimates reflects the de-consolidation of PB from 1 Jan 2014 and the company’s FY outlook downgrade on 29 September 2014.

Discount to SOTP and PPP assets could attract a bidder.
Balfour Beatty is trading at a 30% discount to SOTP (our 230p Price Objective) and we think retains significant M&A appeal for a player looking for a back door to its portfolio of PPP assets and willing to take a 2-3 year view, before potential UK restructuring starts bearing fruit. As our PO is obtained using zero value for UK Construction, turning around this business would offer further medium-term upside on top of the 230p PO.

In July and August 2014, Balfour Beatty was approached by its UK peer Carillion, although the talks ultimately failed. Balfour Beatty insisted on divesting Parsons Brinckerhoff, which Carillion was keen to retain. Carillion’s final offer in late August would give Balfour Beatty shareholders 58.3% of the combined company and an 8.5p dividend, implying a standalone valuation for Balfour Beatty of just above 300p (according to Carillion calculations). The offer also represented a 36% premium to the company’s average share price in the month before the initial offer was made and 30% premium to the price on 24 July 2014, the day before the talks begun.

Carillion cannot make a hostile bid on BBY until Feb 2015 In its rejection of Carillion’s final proposal from 19 August 2014, Balfour Beatty citied risks associated with the businesses plan, including the proposed significant downsizing of the UK Construction business, as it would curtail its medium-term recovery potential. It also stated its intention to proceed with Parsons Brinckerhoff disposal, which was eventually finalized in October 2014. Under UK takeover rules, Carillion cannot make a hostile bid for Balfour Beatty for six months, ie, until February 2015. Both companies could also hypothetically reengage in tie-up talks (ie after expiry of 3 months lock-up post the rejection in 19 August 2014).

26 Nov 2014 Balfour Beatty PLC BBY Liberum Capital Buy 178.25 176.80 250.00 250.00 Reiterates

SP Target 250p