黑洞社区

Countryside Properties鈥� US-based former private equity owner has sold half of its stake in the recently relisted housebuilder.

The stock exchange was told today that Oaktree Capital Management has sold half its stake in Countryside Properties for more than 拢320m.

The firm, which bought Countryside in 2014, sold 103,686,504 shares 鈥� 23% of the housebuilder鈥檚 issued stock 鈥� at 310p each, leaving it with 103,686,505 shares in the Essex-based housebuilder.

Oaktree鈥檚 remaining 23% stake cannot be sold until at least three months have elapsed from the completion of the sale, although experts doubt the firm would want to sell anytime soon.

鈥淥aktree has done extremely well,鈥� said analyst Tony Williams of 黑洞社区 Values. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 see them selling anything more [of its stake] for perhaps a year or so.鈥�

The timing of the sale was 鈥渆xemplary,鈥� Williams added. 鈥淭he sector is valued at 拢38.2bn, it鈥檚 up 28% since the start of the year, above pre-Brexit levels, and this sale comes off the back of a storming set of first half figures from Countryside,鈥� he said.

Countryside in February last year and recently announced .

鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing well not just in their own housebuilding activity, but in their partnerships as well,鈥� said Williams.

鈥淧rivate sector units up 54%, partnership units up 23%. These were great numbers,鈥� he added.

Announcing its half year results last week Countryside, said its performance had exceeded its own expectations and it was upgrading its forecast for the full year.

Oaktree remains exposed to UK housebuilding through its 拢500m stake in specialist retirement homes business Pegasus.