Mar City shares jump as housebuilder swings to profit

Mar City's share price more than doubled Thursday afternoon trading after the housebuilder announced improved annual results and scored a contract in the West Midlands, UK.

The company reported a pre-tax profit of £0.98m for 2012 from a loss of £1.3m a year earlier as revenues grew to£8.9m from £1.0m as a result of new house building projects in the West Midlands and Leicestershire.

"In line with our strategy, we have moved the group into profit and have continued to build group revenues with a series of new contracts," Chairman Hamilton Anstead said.

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Mar City has scored a contract for the construction of 137 units in the West Midlands, UK.

The units, which include houses and apartments, will be sold to housing associations and the open market.

It will be supported by funding from the government's Get Britain Building initiative, an investment fun for developers to address the weakness in the housing market.

The value of the contract is about £10.9m.

The firm also reported that is has raised £1.65m by placing 47.2m new ordinary shares at a price of 3.5p each, which will be used to finance future land purchases.

RD