The putative offers from Galliford Try and Redrow for Bovis Homes in March when it was stricken now look very cheeky, indeed. When Redrow announced that it was walking away, the Bovis share price was below £9; it rose 33p to £11.38 after a trading update that indicated progress on all fronts away from the scandal that engulfed the company last year and cost David Ritchie his job as chief executive in January.
With hindsight, the furore over the quality of Bovis’s homes was a consequence of the continuing housebuilding boom and the need to keep up with City forecasts by cutting corners and paying buyers to move in early. In a more orderly market, it probably wouldn’t have happened. The £10.5 million that Bovis