Kensington Group - Back on the Boil !!

Investors queue for Kensington
Geoff Foster, Daily Mail
20 December 2005
AS the FTSE raised 8.2 points to 5539.8, a new four year high, dealers were casting a kindly eye on Kensington Group. It welcomes with open arms those people who experience difficulty in obtaining mortgages or loans from the High Street banks.

Kensington has been a godsend for many couples who have fallen foul of the stricter lending criteria imposed by Britain's biggest lenders. It obviously charges a premium to those with poor credit ratings, but it does give the less financially fortunate a chance to get on the property ladder.

Up from a January level of £4-plus, the shares rose a further 7p to a record 897p on continuing whispers that a private equity player is running the slide rule over the business. A bid approach well north of £9 a share is believed to be a possibility early in the New Year.


Kensington looks in the best of health. It revealed last month that it was on target to meet its full-year earnings forecasts. Lending was up 50% in the first 11 months of the year and during that period Kensington lent a massive £3bn. It earns a considerable sum by charging its customers early redemption penalties, a necessary evil in this cut-throat market.