With a £3.6bn turnover and profit of £137m for the year to 30 June 2008, Barratt's figures look reasonable, yet City rumours are swirling about the firm's £1.3bn debt. Robin Hardy, analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, says: "There's no way this firm can trade its way out. They will have to come to market and beg for money and it feels like its shares are being puffed up ready for a rights issue."rnBarratt's monster debt - due in part to its £2.2bn acquisition of Wilson Bowden at the height of the boom - will restrict its ability to buy land, ramp up production and boost marketing resources.rnIt also has a short landbank, which could be a problem when combined with its indebtedness - it will be tough to borrow money to buy more land, once its current land runs out.
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