Bid target Bellway wants 'top dollar'

BELLWAY chief executive John Watson warned today that anyone contemplating a bid for the housebuilder would have to pay 'top dollar'.

With record forward sales and pre-tax profits rising 35% to £169.3m in the year ended July, its shares hit a five-year peak of 728p, up 22p. The total dividend is raised 27% to 20p.

The average price of the 6,278 homes it sold last year rose 24% to £149,700, mainly due to improved specification.