Inland Homes looks to raise £9.9m ahead of expected Covid-19 hit

Housebuilder Inland Homes will look to raise up to £9.9m in order to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of significant impacts expected as a result of Covid-19.

Inland Homes said on Thursday that it was planning a placing and subscription of up to 20.7m new shares at a price of 47.5p each, an 11% discount to its closing price on Wednesday.

The AIM-listed group said proceeds of the fundraiser would not only strengthen its balance sheet but also allow the group to structure payments to its subcontractors and supply chain. Inland had already cancelled its second interim dividend of 2.25p per share, saving itself £4.6m cash in the process.

In a separate announcement, Inland said Covid-19 had impacted its first-half results - with five significant transactions totalling £46.2m being cancelled in March.

Inland said: "We are assuming that all planned sales of our homes are delayed by at least two months and that the majority of our land sales will be delayed by between two and six months. This includes the major land sales that were expected to be achieved for the half-year ended 31 March 2020.

"These delays will result in revenues, gross and operating profit in the period being impacted significantly. The Partnership Housing revenues are expected to continue in line with our expectations as work on these sites are continuing at present."

As of 1050 BST, Inland Homes shares were down 6.18% at 50.20p.