Barratt Redrow in planning plea as sales outlook falls

Barratt Redrow has slowed land buying and cut its sales outlook amid warnings the Government’s planning reforms are “not enough”.

Britain’s biggest housebuilder sold 17,667 properties in the year to June 28, which reflected a five per cent rise on the year before.

The company’s pre-tax profit jumped by 48 per cent year on year to £363.5 million.

However, bosses say the Coalville-headquartered operator has lowered its outlook for sales based on current conditions and activity in the financial year so far – with it now anticipating total completions between 17,500 and 17,900 in the 2027 financial year.

The figures are lower than a previously guided range of between 17,700 and 18,200, with officials flagging “continued planning delays”.

They added the company’s positive start to 2026 was “sharply reversed” by the start of the Middle East conflict, which sent mortgage rates higher and halted the Bank of England’s cycle of interest rate cuts.

Chair Caroline Silver said the Government must do more to make housebuilding affordable to support demand, particularly among first-time buyers.

She said: “While recent planning reforms should, in time, boost housing delivery, alone they will not be enough.

“It is only by reducing barriers to home ownership and addressing increasing regulatory and tax burdens, which are constraining housebuilding viability across many parts of the country, that the Government will be able to unlock increased levels of housing delivery.”

Barratt Redrow was formed in 2024, when Barratt took over Redrow, and has developments across the UK under its Barratt Homes, Barratt London, Redrow and David Wilson Homes brands.

Barratt was founded in the 1950s when Sir Lawrie Barratt, keen to get on the property ladder but unable to afford the home he wanted, built his own four-bedroom house in Newcastle.

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