Another second-line group looking at a broker upgrade is housebuilder McInerney. Williams de Broe asserts that the management team has shown its ability to turn the company around. It is impressed by the group's efforts to secure growth opportunities in key markets and sees earnings growth outpacing previous forecasts.

In particular, the move to try to gain a foothold in infrastructural development, which is heading for massive expansion over the coming years as the National Development Plan comes onstream, leads Williams de Broe to argue that the company's current rating is too low.

dcoyle@irish-times.ie