The firm stated that during the year ending December 31 2020, total UK completions fell to 9,609, chiefly due to the spring shutdown of the housing market in response to Covid-19. During the period, Taylor Wimpey’s net private reservation rate was 0.76 homes per outlet per week against 2019’s 0.96. The private average selling price rose 6% to £323,000.
The business traded from an average of 240 outlets, down from 2019’s 250, entering the new year with 239 outlets. From December 16 to the end of the year, it took 650 reservations under the new Help to Buy scheme for completions from Q2 2021.
It noted “some economic uncertainty” with the ongoing pandemic and Brexit but concluded that the housing market’s outlook remained “robust”.
Pete Redfern, Taylor Wimpey’s CEO, said: “Our 2020 results will be in line with market expectations. While operations were impacted by the shutdown period in the second quarter, the subsequent return to near normal construction capacity and continuing resilience of the UK housing market enabled sales and production to recover strongly towards the end of the year. We increased new investment in land in the second half of the year as high-quality land became available at attractive margins.
“We start the year with an excellent order book and ongoing focus on strengthening the business and improving margins. This will position Taylor Wimpey well to deliver strong and reliable returns for our stakeholders over the medium term.”
