I find myself in that awkward situation of being unsure what to do about Galliford Try (LON:GFRD) rights offer. I have always liked the company and have been a long holder in a modest sort of way. The entire sector has taken something of a beating recently, worsened by Carrillion's disgraceful behaviour and coloured no doubt by doubts as to the wisdom and final outcome of Brexit.
On the other hand, we keep being told we have a housing crisis and we also know that one way most governments handle recessions is to flush money into infrastructure, even with borrowed money. If a slump after this time next year puts the final nail into the present administration's coffin and we have a change of government, what then?
Galliford Try (LON:GFRD) is being transparent that it seeks to finance the completion of the Aberdeen project they have been left with, behind schedule and above budget, thanks to Carrillion. This seems both open and sensible to me. The company has several sectors, including Linden Homes that would be the beneficiary of relaxation of planning restrictions and central pressure to build affordable homes at a higher rate. Do we have the workforce to cope with that nowadays, or are we about to lose a proportion migrating back to Poland?
The initial reaction to the availability of the Galliford Try (LON:GFRN) rights on the market seems to suggest a lot of brisk selling, along with further falls in the main share price. Today, we see what looks like a reversal of that trend but will it last, I wonder?
I would be glad to hear what others think about the sector generally and this offer in particular.
Well, perhaps the most interesting thing about the Galliford Try (LON:GFRD) rights issue has been the total lack of interest in it from this forum. It seems that it ended on Friday 13th, possibly unlucky for some. My only concern about it is that the brokers I have used until now are Investdirect, through my bank, HSBC. While they have been convenient from the simple point of view of shifting money in and out of accounts over the years, I can't say I have been very impressed by their brokerage facility. This comes to a head when, at no time has it been possible to trade my small number of Galliford Try (LON:GFRN) rights nor to take up the offer had I so wished. Some days ago, I messaged them saying, "What about some acknowledgement of £GFRN?" to which their response this morning was "You what?" Not good.
