The devastation that has hit the housing market is hardly a cause for festive cheer, so it is good to see that Pete Redfern, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, has not lost his sense of humour.
In an e-mail to staff, leaked to Construction News, the trade journal, Redfern is in decidedly skittish mood. “Given that our share price is 'somewhat volatile' and that over the last few weeks we had more press coverage than if Angelina Jolie gave birth to Siamese twin chimpanzees, I thought it was time for a further update.”
Actually, far from being the usual boring “man the battlements” rallying cry, the memo contains a lot of useful information. He notes that the company had had “a very productive couple of weeks on our debt negotiations with our banks and US lenders”, which he says has “significantly increased our confidence of reaching an acceptable solution for the company”.
One analyst suspects that the memo was a clever ploy to allay fears over the company's future: “It could be that Redfern expected this e-mail to be leaked and it is a parting shot to the City before it closes for Christmas.”
Source:http://business.timesonline.co.uk
