Attention was on housebuilder Redrow Thursday after a leading hedge fund significantly increased its stake in the company. Its shares jumped 8.8 per cent to 314½p after Martin Hughes’s Tosca Asset Management announced a holding of 16.6 per cent, up from the 9.7 per cent it revealed a week ago.

Tosca is reckoned to be attracted to Redrow because of its lowly valuation and the prospect it could play a part in any further consolidation of the industry. Tosca has announced the acquisition of a further 49m shares in Taylor Wimpey, up 6.1 per cent to 187p. Its holding stands at 10.1 per cent.