- Adjusted pre-tax profits fell 14 per cent to £199.9 million.
- Sales have picked up slightly, but remain below last year’s levels.
- Shares dropped as much as 8 per cent before trimming losses.
Britain’s largest housebuilder has warned that political uncertainty could unsettle the housing market just as it heads into its busiest period of the year.
Barratt Redrow said speculation around the spring statement and the run-up to local elections in May may dent sales momentum, even though trading has shown modest improvement since the start of the year. The company suggested that while mortgage rates have eased and earlier fears over changes to stamp duty and council tax have faded, the market remains sensitive.
Adjusted pre-tax profits, the company’s preferred measure, fell 14 per cent to £199.9 million in the six months to December, down from £231.4 million a year earlier. Barratt said thinner margins were to blame, pointing to increased use of sales incentives and rising build costs, while house price inflation remained minimal.
On a statutory basis, however, pre-tax profits nearly doubled to £156.2 million from £85 million. That jump was largely attributed to accounting changes and one-off costs linked to its £2.5 billion Redrow acquisition in 2024.
The interim dividend, due to be paid on May 15, has been cut 9 per cent to 5p.
David Thomas, chief executive, appeared cautious when discussing the political backdrop. “There’s a lot of stuff going on,” he reportedly said in a news report. Referring to local elections, he suggested planning decisions could slow as committees tend to avoid approving large projects in the run-up to a vote.
A fragile recovery
Demand dipped noticeably through autumn and winter amid widespread talk that Rachel Reeves might overhaul property taxes in her budget, something that did not materialise. Since that uncertainty eased, weekly sales have edged up.
Barratt is now selling about 0.59 homes per site each week across its 400-plus locations, compared with 0.55 in the latter half of 2025. Even so, sales remain slightly below the same period last year.
Between July and December, the group completed 7,444 homes, 5 per cent more than the year before. Thomas reportedly said the rise partly reflected buyers rushing to complete purchases before the stamp duty increase in April.
Barratt is still targeting between 17,200 and 17,800 completions for the financial year ending in June. It expects adjusted annual pre-tax profit to land within its previously guided range of £558 million to £617 million.
Investors reacted swiftly. Shares fell as much as 8 per cent before recovering some ground, and were down 3.43 per cent, or 13¼p, at 375¾p in late afternoon trading.
Barratt Redrow, founded in 1958 by Sir Lawrie Barratt, became the UK’s largest housebuilder following its Redrow takeover. With a market value of more than £5 billion, its performance is often seen as a bellwether for the wider housing sector. Whether political events in the coming months further test buyer confidence remains to be seen.
