Tony Pidgley's £85m in Berkeley giveaway

Berkeley chairman Tony Pidgley is in line for an £85 million windfall after the housebuilder said it would give back £1.7 billion to shareholders over the next 10 years.

Pidgley, who once fought off a takeover bid from his own son, has a 5% stake in the business.
The cash giveaway will also benefit taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group, Berkeley's biggest shareholder, to the tune of £170 million.

The firm embarked on a similar move seven years ago, returning £1.4 billion to investors as it shied away from buying land at inflated prices at the peak of the boom.

Instead, Berkeley cannily spent £500 million on swelling its land bank to more than 27,000 plots over the past two years following the crash.

Managing director Rob Perrins insisted that today's move was not calling the top of the market, and more about managing Berkeley's "natural size" and the risks of the property cycle.

Perrins said: "We would rather give the cash back than keep growing earnings per share.

"If you do that then there is a chance you will invest at the wrong point in the cycle."

Pre-tax profits jumped 24% to £136.2 million in the year to April 30 as Berkeley benefited from its strong presence in London and the South East.

Perrins expects the capital's status as a "world city" to underpin the housing market.