Ellandi has been covering a lot of miles of late. We have been assisting an international bank in reviewing its exposure to the UK residential market and specifically a number of mid size regional builders.

Having made numerous site inspections, some with the developers and some as mystery shoppers, we were able to produce a comprehensive report that allowed the bank to develop a realistic view of its current security position. We provided advice on potential realisation options and assisted in formulating specific business plans with those lenders that the bank intends to support.

This project required us to work under a tight frame and with absolute discretion. Our small team, extensive experience in the house building sector and background as a developer allowed us to produce a comprehensive and practical report for use by the credit team, relationship managers and senior management at the bank.

Richard Lander on Citywire rightly feels that housebuilders should stop complaining about their current predicament and demanding state aid.

http://www.citywire.co.uk/personal/-/news/money-property-and-tax/content.aspx?ID=310184

Thankfully Sir James Crosby agrees with them, so no Fannie or Freddie requiring huge state subsidy for us then.

Perhaps they would be more succesful if they had an advocate on prime time TV, like Jim Cramer on CNBC. 

In this now imfamous rant he screams that Ben Bernanke “Has no idea what’s like out there” and asks for the rate cuts and the discount window to be opened; and lo the Fed eventually obliged.

It’s quality viewing, for the first 2 minutes he simmers along and then just loses it.

Bernanke, Wake Up!

I love this guy, far more entertaining than the unbearibly smug Robert “I broke the Northern Rock story 20 seconds before Sky” Penston on the BBC.

In a recent article (FT 29/7/08), Gideon Rackman, argued that clichés are in effect truisms, based upon the received wisdom of crowds; or to put it another way, you are more likely to get the right answer asking the audience than phoning a friend.

On this basis if I write a blog full of clichés, it is bound to be more accurate than one without them, so here goes:

On the 9^th August we reached the tipping point of the Credit Crunch when BNP Paribas effectively declared that two of their hedge funds were sicker than a dead parrot.

A year on we would appear to be in a perfect storm, but how did we get here? Are we at the beginning of the end of our troubles yet, or merely the end of the beginning?

By Autumn it was clear that the good ship Great Returns From property was holed below the water line and retail investors, always late to the party, rushed for the life rafts of this rapidly sinking ship.

By December brave investors had stepped up to the plate to buy from the funds who were forced to sell, but by January it was clear that they had caught a falling knife and the market in New Year was flatter than a dead cat bounce.

Buying investments based on last years’ values is clearly like driving only using your rear view mirror.

Any hopes of a resurrection following Easter, where dashed when the green shoots of recovery, being nurtured by the agent community, were left withered in the ground by cold blast of Arctic realism blowing into MIPIM with the banking community.

The collapse of Bear Sterns shortly thereafter showed that no one was too big to fail.

Through early summer until now a Mexican Standoff has continued, with sellers either not able or willing to put their heads above the parapet, to be shot at by the big guns of the opportunity funds.

The elephant in the room is of course the question how the banks will react, now there appears to be no relief in sight (not even in September).

Dawnay Day has shown that it’s not always the banks problem if you owe them £2bn.

Come the autumn we’ll be ready and willing to run a few ideas up the flagpole to see who salutes, but for the time being we’re happy to wait for blood on the streets.