MJ Gleeson eyes return to work for week's end

Housebuilder MJ Gleeson has implemented its plan for a phased re-start of activity at its sites following Boris Johnson's guidance on the future of Downing Street's Covid-19 lockdown over the weekend.

MJ Gleeson said on Thursday that it will have reopened up to half of its sites for limited building activity by the end of the week, with its remaining sites set to reopen by the end of June.

The London-listed group also said it would begin to reopen sales offices this week on a regional hub basis. However, visits to these regional hubs will be by appointment only.

MJ Gleeson also highlighted that over the coming weeks it will begin to bring its 456 furloughed employees back to work.

In terms of trading, MJ Gleeson noted that although its sales offices were closed, the group continued to receive and deal with enquiries both online and by phone and was yet to experience any negative impact on selling prices, incentives or lender valuations as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chief executive James Thomson said: "We welcome the Government's assistance in facilitating our return to work to build much needed homes.

"It will be some time before we can accurately assess demand but we are encouraged by the level of interest from prospective buyers in just the last few days."

As of 0920 BST, MJ Gleeson shares were up 0.51% at 703.56p.