Barratt stated that revenue improved 9.5% to £5,267.9 million. However, pre-tax profit dropped 20.9% to £642.3 million against last year. It has made a £408.2 million provision for building safety costs, which includes a £396.4 million charge for its commitment to the government’s building safety pledge.
On building safety, Barratt pointed out its call to the government “to reconsider additional plans to expand the scope of the Building Safety Levy”. The proposed extension, it said, risked “further punishing UK housebuilders who were not responsible for most of the historical buildings or building safety issues being addressed”.
Barratt’s private average selling price rose 4.7% to £340,800 during the year, driven by house price inflation across the country. Its net private reservation rate per week was 0.81 against the previous year’s 0.78.
At the same time, its net private reservations per active outlet per average week from July 1 to August 28 were lower at 0.60 than at the equivalent period last year (0.82) and below 0.70 for the same time span in FY20. Barratt cited “heightened macro-economic uncertainty” as well as the limited availability of homes for early occupation, thanks to its “strong” order book.
Barratt said it intended to activate its registration with the New Homes Quality Code during the first half of its current financial year. The Code, as part of the New Homes Quality Board and New Homes Ombudsman, aims to build upon existing protections for homebuyers.
David Thomas, Barratt’s CEO, said: “Our financial strength and operational excellence position us well to navigate the macro-economic uncertainties ahead. I’d like to thank our employees, subcontractors and supply chain partners for helping us to continue to deliver the industry-leading, sustainable homes and developments our customers want and the UK needs.”
