Market wrap: Countryside dives after £250m fundraise

Housebuilder Countryside posted a 7.91% drop in its share price today after raising £250m to pay off debt and fuel expansion.

It placed 74.4m shares at a 6.7% discount to yesterday’s closing price.

In a Q3 trading update yesterday, the FTSE 250 housebuilder was optimistic with healthy forward sales of £1.5bn and a plan for new regions. It ended the day at 330.8p.

Also in the FTSE 250, Hammerson fell 5.8% to 70.8p, its lowest price since mid-May.

A number of REITs announced dividends and saw an uptick in the market. This included AEW UK REIT up 5.47% to 75.2p and Secure Income REIT up 4.92% to 266.5p.

The FTSE 100 tipped up 0.07% to 6,211.44 and the FTSE 250 rose 0.14% to 17,489.45.

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