Sharewatch: Berkeley’s gamble

After all, they went home on Friday night knowing that an estimated £100m was to come their way.

At an extraordinary general meeting on Friday morning, Berkeley’s shareholders supported the board’s plans to return an estimated £1.45bn of cash to shareholders in the next six years, with 92% voting in favour.

But there was a catch - they could see their share of the cash if they also approved the controversial remuneration package. And quite right too.

Berkeley secured around three-quarters of the vote, which surely recognises that if shareholders are to make a lot of money, so too should the management.

The City welcomed the news that Berkeley was given the green light to restructure the business, quitting the luxury housing market and turning its attention to urban regeneration. Some in the City believe Friday’s vote has removed uncertainty surrounding the company, which will have a positive impact on the share price. After Friday’s EGM, shares in Berkeley rose 2% to £12.90.

Shares in the sector overall were static last week at 2901, putting an end to four-week trend of share increases. The Construction and Building Materials Index was slightly outperformed by the All-Share, which rose just under 1% to 2282.

The star performer was construction and property company Henry Boot. Shares in the Sheffield-based company were up nearly 12% to 410p ahead of its interim results, reported on Wednesday. Other highlights included M&E contractor T Clarke. Its shares rose 7% to 567.5p after news it had bought private company Anglia Electrical Services for £2.1m.

Kier Group’s share price also shot up 6% to 738.5p after a strong set of annual results.

The story among housebuilders was less positive than it has been in recent weeks, with shares in Barratt, Westbury, Wilson Bowden and George Wimpey, all falling.

Among the AIM-listed firms, good results from Interior Services Group and Oakdene Homes sent shares up 9% to 177.5p and 7% to 106.5p respectively.