The under-pressure builder Bellway has hailed the government’s planning system revamp, arguing it will “unlock” new housing across the country, as councils received £68m to construct thousands of homes on disused brownfield sites.
In comments released as it reported a sharp fall in revenues and profits, the UK housebuilder said the drive by the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, to increase Britain’s housing stock could help generate long-term growth for the company.
Rayner, who is also housing secretary, has set a target of 1.5m new homes being built this parliament, enabled by a shake-up in planning rules. To meet this, the overall target for new homes will increase from 300,000 a year to 370,000, compared with the fewer than 200,000 homes expected to be completed this year.
The Bellway chief executive, Jason Honeyman, said: “We welcome the new government’s plans to reform the planning system, which in time is expected to unlock land supply and support an increase in new housing across the country.”
Honeyman said “this improving backdrop”, combined with a continuation of stable market conditions, would help the Newcastle-based builder to grow.
In August, Bellway abandoned a £720m takeover bid for its smaller rival Crest Nicholson after months of negotiations.
The Bellway comments came as the government unveiled the £68m funding for local councils, spread over about 54 local authorities. Ministers said it was expected to deliver 5,200 homes on sites such as former car parks and industrial land where it can be difficult to build.
The money is from the “brownfield” land release fund initiated under Boris Johnson’s regime. It has already awarded £95m to help councils build an expected 6,800 homes.
Bellway told investors on Tuesday that pre-tax profits had plunged by 62% to £183.7m in the year to 31 July, as revenues fell by 30.1% to £2.38bn.
House constructions also dropped by 30.1% to 7,654 homes for the year, driven by a weak order book at the start of the year. The average Bellway home sold for £307,909, down from £310,306 a year earlier.
Honeyman said that consumer confidence had gradually improved through the year, as mortgage rates began to ease.
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Rates rocketed after interest rates were increased to a peak of 5.25% – a 15-year high – and remained at this level until the Bank of England cut them to 5% in August in its first cut to the cost of borrowing since March 2020.
“Customer demand through the second half benefited from a moderation in mortgage interest rates which has eased affordability pressures and supported an increase in reservations,” Honeyman said.
Bellway’s forward order book has increased to 5,144 homes from 4,411 homes at the same point last financial year and the company hopes to complete 8,500 houses this year. Its shares rose nearly 9% in early trading to value it at £3.9bn.