Close to 10 million shares in McInerney Holdings changed hands in Dublin yesterday, prompting speculation that a single investor has taken a punt on the house- building group.
Just over 9.9 million McInerney shares were sold on the Irish Stock Exchange yesterday, bucking the trend for the market as a whole and building-related equities, which all fell on the back of bad news from the US and UK.
McInerney's closed up two cent or 1.9 per cent at €1.46 on the strength of the business done in the stock. Another housebuilder, Abbey, dropped 38.5 cent or 6.63 per cent to €5.425, while companies with an exposure to Irish and other construction markets, including CRH and Grafton, all lost value yesterday.
The movement in the shares sparked market speculation that a single buyer was involved, but it was not possible to confirm this last night. According to the stock exchange, there were 130 transactions in McInerney yesterday.
As the amount of shares involved came to almost 5 per cent of the company, a single buyer would be obliged to show their hand within three days.
Any person or organisation who takes a stake of 3 per cent or more in an Irish listed company has to declare this fact to the market within that time.
