One of Crest Nicholson’s top investors said it was likely to find itself in the crosshairs of a takeover bid after a series of profit warnings and uncertainty over how Brexit could hit the housing market dragged its share price to historic lows.
Alastair Gunn of Jupiter Asset Management, whose funds control 2.6% of the housebuilder’s shares, said “a number of players within this industry” including private equity funds, other listed housebuilders and financial giants like Legal & General had the financial clout to take advantage of the situation.
Gunn compared Crest to the similarly-sized Bovis, which is also focused on the south of England and attracted unsuccessful bids from rivals Redrow and Galliford Try last year after a rout in its shares.
The Times covers the housebuilder in its Market Report column, noting executive chairman Stephen Stone has spent more than £450,000 buying shares in the housebuilder in a fresh signal that he plans to steer the company to recovery after a string of profit warnings.
