Market Report: Bovis beats off rivals as new boss grabs £1.2m in shares

Greg Fitzgerald, boss of Bovis Homes, made sure he and his new employer made the most of today’s market rally.

The FTSE 250 firm today revealed that Fitzgerald ploughed £1.24 million of his own cash into shares in the ailing housebuilder on Friday, just three days after getting his feet under the desk. The investment is worth almost double his basic salary.

Investors saw the move as a sign of confidence in his ability to engineer a turnaround at the group, which shocked the market with a profit warning over Christmas that led to former chief executive David Ritchie’s exit.

Bovis’s troubles attracted takeover bids — subsequently rebuffed — from rivals Redrow and Galliford Try (where Fitzgerald worked for more than 30 years until 2014). Fitzgerald’s purchase ensured Bovis was the best-performing housebuilder on the market, rising 17p, or 1.9%, to 931p.

But banking stocks were the place to be after the first round of elections in France, which triggered a buying spree as stock markets surged. The FTSE 100 followed France’s CAC-40 higher by climbing 108.12 points, or 1.5%, to 7222.67.

“With Macron now looking like a shoo-in for the presidency [polls give him a 24-point lead for the second round], markets have breathed a huge sigh of relief as the chances of Le Pen being able to lead France out of the euro evaporate,” said Jake Trask, research director at currency firm OFX.

A $240 million (£188 million) contract with the US Navy buoyed Amec Foster Wheeler. It rose 12.93p to 571.93p, higher than when it received a £2 billion all-share takeover offer from rival Wood Group last month.

Investors in five-a-side football operator Goals Soccer Centres, up 7p at 109p, hit the back of the net after it confirmed a merger with rival Powerleague was being considered. However, Canaccord, the AIM-listed firm’s own broker, warned: “A potential tie-up would undoubtedly attract scrutiny from the Competition & Markets Authority.”

On the junior market, big-data software firm WANdisco danced 62p, or 16%, higher to 447p after announcing a $4.1 million contract with a financial services group and revealed its cash burn reduced to zero last quarter.