It’s not only the companies throwing up houses that have been dealt a fresh blow from Threadneedle Street. Construction suppliers are feeling the pain as new builds are put on ice and as cash-strapped homeowners become more reticent to spend on cosmetic touch-ups.
For Travis Perkins, the result of a slide in the housing market is predictable enough — the FTSE 250 constituent warned last week that its adjusted operating profits would be about £240 million, below the £271 million it had suggested as recently as April.
Investors were already pessimistic about the builders’ merchant’s earnings prospects. The shares have been on a steady slide over the past two years, closing in on the lows reached during the first pandemic lockdown. Yet the correction seems
