HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments said the number of new homes it will complete over the next year will fall by almost a quarter.
It blamed cost-of-living pressures and rising mortgage rates.
Housebuilder Barratt Developments said the number of new homes it will complete over the next year will fall by almost a quarter
Barratt forecast it will build up to 23 per cent fewer homes over 2023-24
Mortgage rates in particular are proving a deterrent to buyers — hitting a 15-year high of 6.7 per cent this week.
But falling house values are also a big turn-off.
Halifax said prices dropped at their fastest annual rate in 12 years last month, by 2.6 per cent.
Barratt expects to build between 13,250 and 14,250 homes in the next 12 months, down from more than 17,000 this year.
Forward orders have dropped to 8,995 homes worth £2.2billion, down from 13,579 homes worth £3.6billion a year ago.
Meanwhile prices for private sales in its forward-order book have dropped sharply, down 8.7 per cent at £342,900 on average, partly because it used incentives to boost demand.
Yet analysts remain upbeat. Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: “Barratt remains in the kind of financial health which should provide some insulation against any further downdrafts to come.”
Danni Hewson of AJ Bell added: “Many housebuilders are sitting on comfortable net cash positions which should enable them to ride out what is likely to be an exceedingly difficult period.”
Barratt boss David Thomas admitted trading has become more challenging”.
But he added: “We have responded decisively — increasing our reservations into the private rental sector, using incentives for customers in a disciplined way and flexing our build activity, land-buying and operating costs to reflect market conditions.”
Crushing blow for Microsoft
A watchdog in the US fears the deal with Activision Blizzard will give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the market and affect gamers
MICROSOFT’s planned £53billion takeover deal of Candy Crush video game maker Activision Blizzard is again under threat.
A watchdog in the US fears it will give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the market and affect gamers.
It has prompted the Federal Trade Commission to challenge a legal ruling that gave the deal the green light.
Microsoft president Brad Smith said: “The FTC is continuing to pursue what has become a demonstrably weak case.”
0.1%? I’ll shrink to that
King Charles’ coronation meant there were three Bank Holidays instead of two, hitting manufacturing, energy and construction sectors
THE UK economy shrank by a better-than-expected 0.1 per cent in May, figures reveal.
King Charles’ coronation meant there were three Bank Holidays instead of two, hitting manufacturing, energy and construction sectors.
Darren Morgan, of the Office for National Statistics, said pub sales fell despite the royal festivities, after a strong April.
Employment agencies also suffered. But there was recovery for the health sector and a strong month for IT.
The decline was smaller than the predicted 0.3 per cent.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: “The fact the contraction came in at just 0.1 per cent demonstrates the resilience of the economy, which has been battered by inflation, interest rate hikes and strike action.”
But, she warned, “resilient is a far cry from robust”.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said lowering inflation was key to stimulating growth.
It’s rosy in Yorks
SHEFFIELD, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley could attract 8,000 new jobs and £1.2billion of investment after South Yorkshire was named as the first of 12 Advanced Manufacturing Investment Zones.
The initiative has already received backing from Boeing, Loop Technology and Spirit Aerosystems.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Our first Investment Zone is a shining example of how we will drive growth.”
Virgin probed
VIRGIN MEDIA is being probed by watchdog Ofcom over complaints from customers wanting to cancel.
Some said they struggled to get through, or were cut off. Many claimed they had to make repeated requests.
Consumer champion WHICH? said the move was long overdue as the company “has scored abysmally for customer service” in recent surveys.
Virgin Media said: “We will keep working with Ofcom, while making further improvements in how we handle customer complaints.”
£Land of hope
LIKE-for-like sales at Poundland climbed 9 per cent in the last three months, the budget retailer’s highest growth rate since 2018.
Owner Pepco has been transforming its range, adding clothes, homewares, chilled and frozen food. Poundland has announced an extra 120 new roles at its second digital distribution centre. PepCo, which also owns the Dealz brand in Europe, plans to open 550 new stores this year.
PepCo boss Trevor Masters said its aim is “a bigger, better, cheaper, simpler business”.
Job hit at Hays
RECRUITER HAYS has been hit by the general fall in hiring, with today’s gloomy economic figures adding further woes.
The ONS reported a significant 3.5 per cent drop in employment activities during May.
It said there was less recruitment demand as job vacancies continue to fall.
Hays’ fees have fallen 2 per cent in the last three months as it counts the cost.
Its UK profits were down 17 per cent in the last three months to £32.5million.
Hays said it expects profit for the year to be in line with market expectations of £196million, down from last year’s £210million.
SHARES in Watches Of Switzerland soared more than 10 per cent after the Rolex-seller reported that sales had grown to £1.5billion. It surprised the market, which feared the luxury goods sector would be hit by the cost-of-living crisis.
