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Over the past few years there has been a predictability to Volution’s results climbing steadily, despite struggling housing markets and interest rates affecting economies. Recent cries for better ventilated homes have seen the company go from strength-to-strength post pandemic.
Demand for the ventilation company’s products is likely to increase on the back of the government’s new housing regulations and the enactment of Awaab’s Law (named after Awaab Ishak who died in poorly maintained social housing four years ago). So it’s not surprising to see chief executive Ronnie George cash in on the company’s success.
George and his wife Lynsey sold 2.3mn shares this month, for £5.60 each, netting them more than £12.8mn. He continues to hold more than 1.7mn shares, or 0.88 per cent of the total.
Volution said the sales are due to George wanting to achieve further diversification of his portfolio after his last sale of shares in January 2020. Offloading shares is a practical approach in this scenario given the company’s recent strong performance — reflected in the recent 6 per cent increase in its dividend.
Volution this month reported an 11.7 per cent increase in adjusted operating profit to £78mn for its last financial year. Acquisitions fuelled international growth, allowing the company to tap into the increasing demand for low-carbon ventilation. The upcoming completion of its acquisition of Fantech Group for £144mn will contribute to its expansion in Australasia.
There is still plenty of work to be done, though, with faltering demand in some European economies and softer demand in New Zealand needing to be addressed. Yet analysts are optimistic for the future with the developing UK housing market and tightening regulatory frameworks offering growth opportunities.
Bellway finance chief prepares for retirement
As the government pushes its housebuilding agenda, business remains sluggish at many of the major listed housebuilders. Such was the situation at Bellway which reported its full-year results last week.
Completions, the number of homes built and transferred to the new owner, dropped 30 per cent to 7,654 over the year to 31 July. At the same time, pre-tax profit dropped by 62 per cent over the year to £184mn.
However, the housebuilder did see some green shoots, as demonstrated by the 13.8 per cent rise in the private reservation rate. The company is also gearing up for growth by opening more sales outlets, targeting an average number of around 245 over the next year.
All of this ties in with other signs that the housing market might be set for a rebound after a two-year hiatus induced by rising interest rates. ONS data, also released last week, also found that average house prices had increased by 2.3 per cent in the 12 months to September 2024. Meanwhile, Rightmove (RMV) data released this week found that, while asking prices had only risen by 0.3 per cent over the past month, buyers were returning to the market, with the number of new inquiries up by 17 per cent.
In this optimistic context, the sale of £889,231 worth of shares in Bellway by Jayne Maria Adey, a person closely associated with Keith Adey (group finance director) attracted attention. However, Adey is due to step down in December, suggesting that this might be the reason for the sale. The pair still have 53,000 shares in the company, which is worth approximately £2.6bn at the current share price of 4,818p.
