11th May 2016 06:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - Barratt Developments PLC on Wednesday said its market conditions have remained strong in the first few months of 2016, putting it on track to deliver the expected improvement in performance for its full financial year.
The FTSE 100 housebuilder said that in the five months to May 8 consumer demand has been boosted by increased competition in the mortgage market, which led to good availability of attractive mortgage finance for home buyers.
Barratt Developments added that during the period it achieved a sales rate of 0.75 net private reservations per active outlet per week, up from 0.74 for the same period a year earlier.
At May 8, the housebuilder said it had achieved total forward sales of GBP2.84 billion, an increase of 9.7% from a year earlier when total forward sales were GBP2.59 billion.
During the period, 51 new developments were launched, operating from an average of 376 active outlets, and Barratt Development said, whilst the strength of its sales rate has meant it has sold through developments faster than anticipated, it still expects to see "controlled growth in outlet numbers" in the next financial year.
Barratt Developments noted that the UK government's focus on increasing housebuilding and creating a supportive environment for the industry has been evidenced by the increase in the share of its London private reservations that used the Help-to-Buy equity loan scheme.
"We remain on track to deliver the expected improvement in performance for the full year as we maintain our focus on disciplined volume growth, improving our key financial metrics and delivering attractive cash returns," said Chief Executive David Thomas.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
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