Taylor Woodrow Share Discussion Threads

[markpun] 02/5/2007 08:25

OK Judge,

What's the good news then?

[judge jury] 02/5/2007 08:22

The US must look pretty scary if you are PSN, especially if PSN are not going to be given much inside information on this business:

1. Prices [in the US] remain weak and market conditions continue to vary considerably across our key markets
2. Market weakness persists in California and particularly Florida and conditions have worsened in certain submarkets within those states
3. The Spring selling season for our high-rise tower division in Florida has been very poor
4. The high-rise market has weakened significantly and we have therefore taken the decision to save costs by suspending sales efforts for this business until market conditions improve. This decision will result in a one-off non-cash provision of £15.5 million relating to our land holdings in this sector
5. In addition, we intend to take a further £9.5 million provision to reflect weakness in certain local markets in Southern California and Florida
6. We remain cautious in the land market across North America and have reduced our level of spend compared to last year
7. A jury trial in Florida awarded damages against several US-based Taylor Woodrow subsidiaries totalling £22.7 million in November 2006 ... we have provided £16.6 million this year against the potential liability including associated costs

[markpun] 02/5/2007 07:20

Morning Folks,

Taylor Woodrow PLC - AGM Statement
Wed May 2, 2007 7:01 AM BST
Email This Article | Print This Article | RSS [-] Text [+]
RNS Number:9242V
Taylor Woodrow PLC
02 May 2007

AGM Statement

Ian Smith, Chief Executive of Taylor Woodrow, will make the following comments
regarding current trading at today's AGM:

"In the UK, market conditions remain robust and our business reflects this. We
have achieved a slightly higher number of reservations in the year to date
compared to the equivalent period of 2006, along with a reduction in
cancellation rates. Site openings are on track to deliver the anticipated 5 per
cent increase in average sites and we remain confident in the prospects for the
full year. However, in line with our comments at the year end, we expect profit
timing in 2007 to be weighted to the second half.

Sales rates in North America overall are running at a higher level than in the
second half of 2006, although prices remain weak and market conditions continue
to vary considerably across our key markets. Conditions remain good in our
markets in Texas and Canada and the Arizona market is stabilising. However,
market weakness persists in California and particularly Florida and conditions
have worsened in certain submarkets within those states.

The Spring selling season for our high-rise tower division in Florida has been
very poor. While the locations of our sites are excellent the high-rise market
has weakened significantly and we have therefore taken the decision to save
costs by suspending sales efforts for this business until market conditions
improve. This decision will result in a one-off non-cash provision of £15.5
million relating to our land holdings in this sector. In addition, we intend to
take a further £9.5 million provision to reflect weakness in certain local
markets in Southern California and Florida.

We remain cautious in the land market across North America and have reduced our
level of spend compared to last year. However, we are ready to take advantage of
opportunistic deals as they might emerge later in the year and continue to be
confident in the prospects for the business in the medium-term.

As disclosed in our 2006 Report and Accounts, a jury trial in Florida awarded
damages against several US-based Taylor Woodrow subsidiaries totalling £22.7
million in November 2006. On 4 April 2007, the judge ruled on post-trial motions
filed by Taylor Woodrow and reduced the award to £13.9 million. We will be
pursuing an appeal, but have provided £16.6 million this year against the
potential liability including associated costs.

Spain and Construction continue to trade in line with expectations.

Overall, the strength of our performance in the UK is substantially offsetting
the impact of ongoing market weakness in North America and, excluding the
exceptional items in North America, the outlook for 2007 remains in line with
our expectations."

Norman Askew, Chairman of Taylor Woodrow, will make the following comments
regarding the proposed merger with George Wimpey Plc at today's AGM:

"The proposed merger of Taylor Woodrow plc and George Wimpey Plc to form Taylor
Wimpey plc announced on 26 March 2007 continues to progress extremely well and
according to plan.

The Board believes that the merger has compelling strategic and financial logic
for both companies. The merger will create a combined business with
significantly enhanced prospects in both the UK and the US. The Taylor Wimpey
Group will be the leading UK house builder in terms of completions, will have a
combined UK landbank of over 92,000 plots, and will be strengthened in the US
through the combination of highly complementary operations across some of the
most attractive US markets. In addition, shareholders will also benefit from
enhanced profitability through the delivery of significant cost savings and
acceleration of both companies' margin improvement plans.

Documents to shareholders are expected to be posted on Friday, 4 May 2007 and
the merger is expected to complete as scheduled around the beginning of July."

A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 09:00 today.
The dial in number is [phone] and the conference ID number is
7976765.

-ends-

Notes to editors:

Taylor Woodrow is a housing development group. Its primary business is the
development of sustainable communities of high quality homes across the UK and
in selected markets in North America and Spain. The company is listed on the
London Stock Exchange and in the year ending 31 December 2006 consolidated
revenue increased by 3% to £3.6bn. Taylor Woodrow announced its proposed merger
with George Wimpey Plc on 26 March 2007.

[markpun] 01/5/2007 07:17

Barratt cuts 400 jobs after buying rival builder
Britain's biggest housebuilder, Barratt Developments, is to axe at least 400 jobs after its £2.2bn acquisition of rival Wilson Bowden. The two firms have a combined workforce of £7,500. The deal, completed last week, put Barratt ahead of the previous industry leader, Persimmon. Barratt said yesterday that redundancies will be kept to a minimum through natural wastage and redeployment where possible head offices will be closed. It wants to sell off or close some of its operational support activities, based at Ibstock in Leicester. The shares closed 5p higher at £10.86 yesterday.
Julia Kollewe

[markpun] 01/5/2007 07:10

So, any one have an idea what to expect from TWOD at it's annual meeting tomorrow?

[markpun] 01/5/2007 07:01

Taylor Woodrow, the housebuilder, is to hold its annual meeting on Wednesday. It is in talks to merge with George Wimpey.

[markpun] 01/5/2007 07:01

US consumer spending is expected to have risen in March by 0.5 per cent, according to official figures today.

US construction spending, hit hard by a housing market slump, is expected to have risen slightly in March in data due today, despite an expected twelfth consecutive month of decline in residential construction investment.

[markpun] 01/5/2007 06:59

Morning Folks,

Interesting...

From The TimesMay 1, 2007

Persimmon and Wimpey vie for Welsh developmentJames Rossiter, Property Correspondent
Persimmon and George Wimpey, two of the country's largest housebuilders, are set to go head-to-head in a fight to win a slice of a £1.2 billion housing scheme on an old BP refinery in South Wales.

BP is expected to announce within days that it has chosen a development partner to turn 1,000 acres of the Llandarcy site into a village dubbed Coed D'Arcy, deal sources told The Times.

The front-runner to win the main development contract is thought to be St Modwen, best known for its ownership of the MG Rover site at Longbridge and former Ministry of Defence sites around London.

St Modwen would lead the regeneration of the site and sort out planning permissions and then team up with one or more housebuilders to build up to 5,000 homes.

Ian Sutcliffe, the executive director at Wimpey in charge of its UK operation, told The Times: "We are very interested in it. It is a very challenging piece of land and it is a big issue for the Welsh Assembly. It is almost a new town with up to 5,000 homes."

Wimpey, which is in the process of trying to pull off a £5.5 billion merger with Taylor Woodrow, is understood to have held discussions late last year with BP's property managers on an outline strategy for the Welsh site.

At one stage Wimpey is thought to be have been part of a consortium to buy the whole site. Other consortiums are thought to have included Vinci, the French-owned builder, and Quintain Estates and Development, owner of Wembley Arena.

Persimmon, the FTSE-100 housebuilder that is known to be mulling a bid of its own for Taylor Woodrow, has also made approaches to BP about taking a lead role in the Welsh scheme.

Mike Farley, chief executive of Persimmon, has Wales high on the agenda for company growth after benefiting from several years of strong house-price inflation in the Principality.

Mr Sutcliffe, who before joining Wimpey last year was vice-president retail for Shell Oil in the United States and once headed Shell's UK retail direct operation, said that the clean-up of the BP area for housing would prove "challenging remediation." The refinery sits on a hill of hard rock, meaning that effluent could have spread wide to soak into the surrounding softer rock.

BP has hired Savills to sell the site. The Coed D'Arcy scheme envisages about 4,000 homes, half of which should be built by 2016. Outline plans for the whole site are yet to be approved by the Welsh Assembly and local planning authorities.

A BP spokesman said: "We are in discussions with a number of developers regarding the next phases of development at the former BP Llandarcy refinery site in South Wales and these discussions are ongoing."

BP has taken advice on the project from the Prince of Wales' Foundation for the Built Environment. Detailed planning permission for the development of a "pilot project" was granted by the Neath Port Talbot County Council in October 2006.

[8gamsby] 30/4/2007 19:02

Extra week allowed because of easter now may 10th.Still dont think this will happen on these terms.PSN or private equity.Prefer PSN

[judge jury] 30/4/2007 11:12

These merger docs are taking a long time, arent they? The merger was announced on 26 March (ie over a month ago). I know they had Easter but these things are so standard these days and it should be possible to churn them out in a couple of weeks. Possibly suggests negotiations over changes in terms to the merger? Just speculation on my part.

[yewtrees] 30/4/2007 08:31

We have an interest rate rise coming in up next week, what will impact that have on the rising house prices, will it slow it down or reverse the trend. That is for the British market. Although demand still outstripping supply.

Looking at TWD developments abroad, they are wide spread. Still question mark over America, but Canada still ok. As for the Spanish market, if someone going to buy in Spain, I think they would trust TWD over Spanish builder, after recent press. Also they are still in the Spanish areas that are up-and-coming.

Just a few of my views, while trying to analysis the situation.

[8gamsby] 27/4/2007 19:40

Blimey what happened this afternoon

[judge jury] 27/4/2007 07:44

Well, Robinson says they see nothing at this stage, but the WMPY share price is saying a PSN approach is all but a certainty. The WMPY share price at 598p is some 75p or 12% below the implied merger price of 673p so there are some big, presumably informed bets saying PSN is circling.

[markpun] 27/4/2007 07:25

"In response to a query as to whether Persimmon would break up Wimpey's merger proposal, Mr Robinson said: "We see nothing at this stage. If someone enters and makes a bid for Taylor Woodrow and it is something that Taylor Woodrow shareholders feel they cannot turn down, it leaves us with a company with a very strong future and opportunities."

[markpun] 27/4/2007 07:22

"It is understood that potential suitors for Taylor Woodrow, which may include Persimmon, the FTSE 100 housebuilder, are waiting for an update from Woodrow on its US business before pricing any indicative bid approach."

[markpun] 27/4/2007 07:20

Suitors await Woodrow update after warning on US propertyJames Rossiter, Property Correspondent
George Wimpey, the housebuilder trying to tie down a £5.5 billion merger with Taylor Woodrow, has given warning of more falls in US house prices.

The warning yesterday from John Robinson, chairman of Wimpey, is expected to foreshadow a writedown by Taylor Woodrow of its US assets within a week, possibly by $40 million (£20 million) or more.

It is understood that potential suitors for Taylor Woodrow, which may include Persimmon, the FTSE 100 housebuilder, are waiting for an update from Woodrow on its US business before pricing any indicative bid approach.

At Wimpey's annual meeting in London, Mr Robinson said: "Pricing pressure in the US is significant because of the high level of stock still available, and the indirect credit pressures at the more affordable end of the market."

Wimpey's board, led by Peter Redfern, chief executive, insists it has no more writedowns to make since it sliced £60 million from the value of its US land bank at the end of December in what at the time seemed an aggressive review of its balance sheet.

Nearly three weeks later Taylor Woodrow, which has a far larger US land bank than Wimpey and takes a greater proportion of its revenue from the US, took $40 million of writedowns from its North American homes division.

A senior Taylor Woodrow source told The Times: "We did not take the same basis as Wimpey [for writedowns]. We took our revisions based on the market conditions prevailing at the time, which led us to $40 million, of which $13.5 million were option right-offs."

Ian Smith, the new chief executive of Taylor Woodrow, will update his investors at next week's annual meeting.

In response to a query as to whether Persimmon would break up Wimpey's merger proposal, Mr Robinson said: "We see nothing at this stage. If someone enters and makes a bid for Taylor Woodrow and it is something that Taylor Woodrow shareholders feel they cannot turn down, it leaves us with a company with a very strong future and opportunities."

Jon Bell, housebuilder analyst with Shore Capital, said of Taylor Woodrow: "Margins are clearly under pressure. I guess Taylor Woodrow's US land bank could be vulnerable to further writedowns."

[markpun] 27/4/2007 07:13

Morning Folks,

• Wimpey, the homebuilder merging with Taylor Woodrow, said profit margins are improving in its home market and US home sales are recovering in the first half of the year.

[markpun] 26/4/2007 11:53

Wimpey should make 14 pct margins in 2007; merger with Taylor Woodrow going well
AFX


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The proposed merger of George Wimpey PLC and Taylor Woodrow PLC is progressing 'extremely well' and should complete at the start of July, Wimpey said today.

Wimpey said in its AGM statement today that UK market conditions remained healthy, with strong sales rates ahead of this time last year. It also claims to be making progress to improve operating margins and says they will exceed 14 pct in 2007 as long as market conditions remain constant.

The margin improvement is before an extra 23 mln stg compensation in the first half relating to land options no longer deemed suitable for residential development.

There will be no impact on the size or value of Wimpey's long-term landbank reported at the end of 2006.

In the US, where Wimpey made extensive land write-downs last year, the company says it has achieved better sales rates and has had fewer cancellations than the second half of 2006, but there were still difficulties.

'Pricing pressure is significant due to the high levels of stock still available in the market, and the indirect impact on confidence of the credit pressures at the more affordable end of the market,' Wimpey said.

It is also confident of achieving the 25 mln stg and 20 mln usd targeted cost reductions in the UK and US respectively and sees the year progressing in line with expectations.



[e-mail]

[markpun] 26/4/2007 08:54

Judge,

Could it be why WMPY is down??

[judge jury] 26/4/2007 08:48

I think it's WMPY's AGM today. Havent seen any statements yet though.

[markpun] 26/4/2007 07:15

Morning Folks,

Taylor Woodrow, one of the few UK builders to have operations in Spain, lost 11¼p at 497¼p on worries that the uncertainty may deter Persimmon from gatecrashing its merger with George Wimpey.

[8gamsby] 25/4/2007 19:44

PSN down city nervous about a bid for TWOD

[markpun] 25/4/2007 07:19

Morning Folks,

Could we expect a recovery today?

Market Report: Property stocks bounce on Slough bid rumours
By Andrew Dewson
Published: 25 April 2007
Property stocks bounced back after a bout of profit-taking related to valuation concerns, amid talk that British Land will use the proceeds of a partial sale of its Meadowhall shopping centre to bid for Slough Estates.

The UK's second largest landlord is selling up to half of its interest in Meadowhall, near Sheffield, thought to be worth up to £1.8bn, although it intends to remain the largest single shareholder. The word is it will use the proceeds to fund a bid for Slough, valuing the shares at up to 1,100p each, putting the offer in the region of £7.5bn including £2.3bn of debt. Although there are plenty of traders who believe there is nothing behind the rumours, such a deal would make British Land the largest real estate stock in the UK by a wide margin. Slough surged 27.5p to 783.5p in early deals before closing 14p firmer at 770p. British Land settled 4p worse at 1,472p.

Banks were unloved once again, as investors switched their focus on to exposure to the Spanish building and property sector. Barclays fell 20.5p to 712.5p despite it looking more and more like the bank has won the race for ABN Amro. Investors are concerned about its level of lending to Spanish building groups. One bright spot in the banks was Standard Chartered, largely ignored during the ABN Amro saga, as UBS upped its price target for the Asia-focused bank to 1,850p and reiterated its "buy" advice. The shares rose 11p to 1,531p.

[judge jury] 24/4/2007 15:27

More for PSN to worry about

Sales of existing U.S. homes fall by largest amount in nearly 2 decades
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
24 April 2007
Associated Press Newswires

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sales of existing homes plunged in March by the largest amount in nearly two decades, reflecting bad weather and increasing problems in the subprime mortgage market, a real estate trade group reported Tuesday.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell by 8.4 percent in March, compared to February. It was the biggest one-month decline since a 12.6 percent drop in January 1989, another period of recession conditions in housing. The drop left sales in March at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.12 million units, the slowest pace since June 2003.

The steep sales decline was accompanied by an eighth straight fall in median home prices, the longest such period of falling prices on record. The median price fell to $217,000, a drop of 0.3 percent from the price a year ago.

The fall in sales in March was bigger than had been expected and it dashed hopes that housing was beginning to mount a recovery after last year's big slump. That slowdown occurred after five years in which sales of both existing and new homes had set records.

David Lereah, chief economist at the Realtors, attributed the big drop in part to bad weather in February, which discouraged shoppers and meant that sales that closed in March would be lower. Existing home sales are counted when the sales are closed.

Lereah said that the troubles in mortgage lending were also playing a significant part in depressing sales. Lenders have tightened standards with the rising delinquencies in mortgages especially in the subprime market, where borrowers with weak credit histories obtained their loans.

There was weakness in every part of the country in March. Sales fell by 10.9 percent in the Midwest. They were down 9.1 percent in the West, 8.2 percent in the Northeast and 6.2 percent in the South.

[judge jury] 24/4/2007 12:58

PSN must be a bit worried about taking on TWOD ... UK interest rate fears, still no light at the end of the tunnel in the US .... not the best time to be gearing up massively.