Hampshire housebuilder sees growth despite housing market dip

Yahoo

7 hours ago

A Hampshire housebuilder has reported a 'solid performance' despite a challenging market.
Barratt David Wilson Homes Southampton, part of Barratt Redrow and based in Hedge End, announced the update for the 52 weeks ending 29 June.
The firm, which is currently building Pebble Walk on Hayling Island, and Harbour Place in Bedhampton, achieved a net private reservation rate of 0.64 per active sales outlet per week, up from 0.58 in the previous year.
A total of 16,565 homes were completed, including 538 from joint ventures.
The group's adjusted profit before tax is expected to meet market expectations, reflecting some margin improvement and initial cost synergies.
This performance was supported by a strong balance sheet position with year-end net cash of around £772m.
Estimated adjusted item charges for the year are expected to be around £229m, including legacy property charges, acquisition-related reorganisation costs, and CMA commitment costs.
The Redrow acquisition delivered cost synergies ahead of schedule.
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Matthew Paine, managing director at Barratt David Wilson Homes Southampton division, said: "Against a challenging market backdrop, we have delivered a solid performance this year.
"Our adjusted profits are in line with market expectations, despite home completions being slightly below our guided range, mainly due to the impact of fewer international and investor completions than expected in our London businesses.
"We are already seeing tangible benefits from the Redrow acquisition, with cost synergies being delivered ahead of schedule, a new divisional structure in place, and revenue synergies progressing well."
However, demand during the year was impacted by consumer caution and mortgage rates not falling as quickly as hoped.
Despite this, there remains a long-term structural under-supply of housing in the UK.
Matthew added: "Our increased scale, three market-leading brands, and strong land pipeline put us in a unique position to rapidly accelerate volume delivery as consumer confidence strengthens and the benefits of planning reform materialise at a local level.
"We remain confident in our medium-term ambition to deliver 22,000 high-quality homes a year, and in the long-term demand for our high-quality homes."