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Berkeley insider offloads shares worth £11m

Shares in the high-end housebuilder were among the most resilient in the sector in the wake of the pandemic
January 13, 2021
  • Chief executive’s wife sells almost £11m in shares
  • The housebuilder delivered the housebuilding sector's second-highest total return in 2020
IC TIP: Hold at 4,442p

Vanessa Perrins, the wife of Berkeley (BKG) chief executive Rob Perrins, has disposed of almost £11m-worth of shares in the housebuilder, following a year in which the group delivered one of the highest total returns in the sector. 

The sale, made at 4,743p a share, was only the second share sale made by Mr Perrins or someone closely associated with him. In October, Vanessa Perrins disposed of just over £715,000-worth of shares. 

Mr Perrins’ remaining beneficial holding in the housebuilder stands at 1m shares, equivalent to 0.8 per cent of the outstanding share capital. 

The London-focused housebuilder delivered a total return of 6.2 per cent during 2020, according to FactSet data, making it the second-best performer in the sector, after Persimmon (PSN). That was largely thanks to the generous distributions to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks, which during the 12 months to the end of September totalled £280m, or 225p a share. The group was also the first housebuilder to reinstate investor returns in the wake of the pandemic. 

In December, management said it was on track to return £280m a year through to 2025. The next £140m will be paid by the end of March via a mix of dividends and share buybacks, of which just over £37m has already been made, with the dividend amount to be confirmed before the end of February.

Management is also weighing whether to return £455m of surplus capital to shareholders or invest the funds in new land. The group’s net cash balance stood at £954m at the end of October. 

A more resilient performance in the months following the pandemic has meant the shares have attracted a deserved premium to the sector average, trading at price/forecast NAV multiple of 1.7. That is a slight discount to the group’s own five-year historical average, but leaves the shares fairly valued given the housing market uncertainty ahead. At 4,442p, hold.

Last IC view: Hold, 4,718p, 6 Dec 2020

Buys    
CompanyDirector/PDMRDatePrice (p)Aggregate value (£)
Benchmark HoldingsSeptima Maguire (cfo)5 Jan 216219,988
EnQuestFarina Khan11 Jan 2113.527,000
Euromoney Institutional InvestorColin Day7 Jan 211,08437,940
Pantheon InternationalJohn Burgess7 Jan 212,5153,849,987
River and MercantileJonathan Dawson (ch)11 Jan 2123423,400
Sells    
CompanyDirector/PDMRDatePrice (p)Aggregate value (£)
Andrew WrightJames Latham11 Jan 2192534,512
Berkeley Group HoldingsRobert Perrins (ce)8 Jan 214,74310,848,885
Impax Asset ManagementCharlie Ridge (cfo)5 Jan 21750212,498
Impax Asset ManagementIan Simm (ce)7 Jan 21840840,000
Randall & QuilterAlan Quilter (ce)6 Jan 21176704,000
YouGovJulien Chevignon8 Jan 211,040395,200
YouGovAndy Morris8 Jan 211,040400,400
YouGovDoug Rivers8 Jan 211,0402,600,000