Investors in International Workspace Group – the name behind the Regus brand - received a nice bump this morning as the company announced plans to extend its current share buyback scheme by $50m. In addition to delivering an immediate value-add to shareholders and allowing management to take advantage of the depressed share price, it also hints at the cash generative nature of the business right now. The IWG share price was up 4% in early trade.
House builders including Barratt have started the day on the back foot following media reports that a class action lawsuit is being launched regarding alleged price collusion, leading to 700,000 buyers paying inflated prices for their properties over the last decade. Bellway, the Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry are also flagged within the claim, which could be seek up to £4.5bn in compensation. The Barratt Redrow share price was down more than 2% shortly after the open, making it one of the worst performers on the FTSE-100 at copy time.
Small cap global mineral exploration company Celsius Resources issued an update this morning, noting that it would sell its 95% interest in a Namibian Cobalt-Copper project for $15m. That enables the company to focus on operations in Asia, with the transaction also backed by a non-refundable exploration and test commitment of at least $1m. Th Celsius Resources share price was up more than 80% in early trade, which is of little surprise given this deal truly eclipses the company’s current market cap.
Most read news on Investegate this morning
Trading Statement - - Sainsbury (J) (SBRY)
