Partner Article

Developer brings more hope for housing sector

Housebuilder Barratt Developments has brought more signs of recovery for the housing sector by reporting reduced losses for the second half of last year and making an upbeat forecast for the next six months.

The Newcastle-headquartered firm made a pre-tax loss of £178.4m, £129.9m of which related to finance costs, compared with a loss of £594.5m a year earlier.

The builder said it had 27% more orders on its books than this time last year.

“We are expecting to see significant improvements in operating margins in the second half,” the company added.

Total home completions for the six months to the end of 2009 were 5,053, compared with 6,905 in the same period in 2008.

Revenue came in at £872.4m, compared with £1.26bn a year earlier.

Barratt chief executive Mark Clare said: “During the period, the recovery of the UK new housing market continued in terms of customer demand and pricing, albeit mortgage availability remained restricted, particularly in the higher loan to value segment.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .