Contagion effects and intra industry information flows: the example of Olympia & York

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the collapse of Olympia & York on the performance of 42 UK property securities. Different event study methodologies are used to test for the presence of a contagion effect and intra-industry information transfers. While significant results are not obtained for all of the nine events examined, there is evidence in support of information transfers for major events leading up to the bankruptcy of Olympia & York. In addition, there is some evidence that the market differentiates between property companies in terms of their focus and specialist market in terms of the response in their share prices.

Keywords:

• Uk Property Companies
• Olympia
• Contagion Hypothesis
• Intra-INDUSTRY Information Transfers