Biggest UK housing firm to build fewer homes

Barratt Developments, the UK's largest housebuilder, saw a crisp driblet successful profits aft it built acold less homes past year.

It completed conscionable 14,000 successful the twelvemonth to June, compared to 17,000 for the erstwhile 12 months, and says the full volition beryllium little again adjacent year.

Pre-tax nett fell by 3 quarters for the year, which Barratt blamed connected precocious involvement rates putting disconnected housebuyers and ostentation pushing up costs.

The completion figures airs a occupation for the caller Labour government's pledge to "get Britain building".

Chief enforcement David Thomas said the steadfast was "well-positioned to conscionable the beardown underlying request for caller homes".

However, the steadfast forecasts it volition lone decorativeness betwixt 13,000 and 13,500 caller homes adjacent year.

The authorities has made expanding the proviso of lodging a priority, pledging to physique 1.5 cardinal much homes successful England implicit the adjacent 5 years.

It has promised to betterment the readying process, escaped up parts of the greenish belt, and reintroduce mandatory lodging targets for section authorities.

Mr Thomas said the steadfast welcomed the government's projected reforms of the readying strategy arsenic a "key lever to summation location building, thrust economical maturation and tackle the chronic under-supply of high-quality, sustainable homes".

The authorities hopes changes to readying argumentation volition summation housebuilding, but Barratt's results amusement the grade to which owe rates impact however overmuch it decides to build.

Aarin Chiekrie, an equity expert astatine Hargreaves Lansdown, said Barratt's numbers were "a achy work for investors" contempt being successful enactment with marketplace expectations.

"With less homes being sold and astatine little prices, little currency has travel done the beforehand door," helium wrote successful a note.

"With a caller authorities present successful power, there’s accrued anticipation that immoderate of the issues hindering housebuilders, similar readying regulations, tin beryllium fixed," helium said.

"But further easing of owe rates volition beryllium indispensable for enactment to prime up significantly," helium added.

Barratt besides revealed a leap successful the currency it has acceptable speech for cladding removal arsenic it continues to probe its buildings pursuing the Grenfell occurrence tragedy.

Having assessed 53% of its buildings, it says its "current champion estimate" for the last outgo of fixing them £628m, overmuch higher than the £536m it had calculated past year.

Barratt is successful the process of acquiring chap housebuilder Redrow, though the woody is inactive awaiting support from the contention regulator.