How construction fared in the City this week
The free-spending Chelsea of the housebuilding world, Taylor Woodrow, was pegged back a bit last week.

The company's £480m offer for Wilson Connolly led at first to a sharp rise in its share price – it soared 24.25p to 252.25p on Monday alone.

But once the market had digested the move, investors calmed down a bit, leaving Taywood at 242.25p by the time the whistle blew on Friday – still a 6.2% rise for the week.

Wilson Connolly, on the other hand, was able to sustain its initial rise. It rose 11% to 232p last Monday, and was still at 231p by the end of the week.

If Taywood is Chelsea, then Wimpey and Persimmon are the Manchester United and Arsenal of the housebuilders' league – as you will remember, they topped the pre-tax profit table in Building's top 100 in July.

Persimmon made a title challenge of its own last week, rising 2.3p to 578.25p, although Wimpey stumbled slightly, falling 2.7% to 379.5p.

Fairbriar was last week's West Ham United. The housebuilder fell from grace in much the same way as the East End club slipped from the Premiership last season. Its share price tumbled 20.9% to 43.5p.