Barratt Redrow backs outlook after "resilient" start to financial year

Barratt Redrow PLC on Wednesday said it welcomed government support for first-time buyers as it reiterated full-year guidance despite a "challenging" backdrop.

In response, shares in the Newcastle upon Tyne, England-based housebuilders were up 1.2% at 322.70 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

Barratt Redrow said trading performance in the first 17 weeks of the financial year has been "resilient against a backdrop of challenging market conditions", with continued pressure on affordability.

"While the underlying private reservation rate has been softer, we have seen stronger demand from the private rental sector," the FTSE 100 listing added in a trading update ahead of Wednesday's annual general meeting.

Completions totalled 3,223 in the 17 week period, down from 3,665 the year prior. The forward order book edged up to £3.32 billion from GP3.28 billion.

The underlying private reservation rate per outlet per week in the period was 0.53 compared to 0.57 the year prior.

Over the period Barratt operated from an average of 406 sales outlets, including joint ventures, against 402 a year ago.

Barratt welcomed the introduction of the 'Your First Home' scheme by the UK government in its recent budget statement. This will support housing delivery over time, Barratt said, but "it is too early to assess its impact on first-time buyer activity in FY27".

Barratt's financial year ends in June. Its full-year guidance remains unchanged.

In September, the builder forecast completions of between 17,500 and 17,900 homes for financial 2027 and said it expects to operate from around 405 sales outlets on average.

In the the 52 weeks ended June 28, Barratt reported completions of 17,667, up 5.0% from 16,826 the financial year before.

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