Barratt Homes posts rise in profits

The company, which reported pretax profit of £210.2m for the period, said it planned to open a further 90 sites in the second half, which would deliver another 13,500 new homes over their lifetime.

Mark Clare, group chief executive of Barratt Developments said: “Since 2009 we have committed to invest over £4bn in land for new housing and this is now paying off.

“Housing completions were up over 12 per cent during our first half and are running at the highest level for six years, supporting over 12,000 suppliers and subcontractor companies. Over the next six months we plan to open a further 90 sites, including JVs, that will deliver another 13,500 new homes over their lifetime.”

The group siad it had experienced a strong start to the second half with 279 net private reservations per week over the last eight weeks resulting in 0.71 net private reservations per active site per week.

Mr Clare added: “Our investment programme and the improvements to the business have driven a significant step up in our financial performance in the past year including a 75 per cent increase in profit before tax.”