Bovis, Amec Foster Wheeler/Wood Group and H&T

“Blue-chips opened on the front foot with investors looking to the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday, and the prospect of Brexit being triggered,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Housebuilder Bovis’s shares were up in early trading as it found itself being wooed by two suitors. Bovis has rejected proposals from both Redrow and Galliford Try as it feels neither reflect the underlying value of the business, although talks with the latter are continuing. Bovis came under fire recently over the quality of its homes and revealed it was paying £7m to put faults right. But it is now making good progress with plans to recover and improve profitability and enhance return on capital.

“Energy industry services provider Amec Foster Wheeler led the FTSE250 board in early trading after it agreed an offer from the John Wood Group. The tie-up will lead to cost savings of around £110m a year while creating a global leader in project, engineering and technical services across a range of industrial sectors. The deal values Amec Foster Wheeler at £2.2bn with the combined group having a market value of around £5bn.

“Pawnbroker H&T Group’s pre-tax profits rose by 42.6% to £9.7m for the year to the end of December. The group’s performance has been helped by higher gold prices and the group continues to develop new revenue streams to offset the challenging conditions in high street pawnbroking where it is having to adapt to the new consumer and regulatory landscape.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.