Barratt has insisted its forward order book is “solid”, despite a fall of £1.4bn.
In a full-year trading update today, the residential developer said its forward sales position had “returned to more normal levels this year”, with total forward sales including joint ventures of £2.22bn at 30 June 2023, down from £3.62bn the previous year. A total of 8,995 homes were sold, down from 13,579, with 73% contractually exchanged.
Chief executive David Thomas (pictured) said: “During a year of economic and political uncertainty, we have delivered a strong operational and financial performance.”
Last year’s figures were inflated due to pent-up demand from the pandemic. This year’s figures were affected by the mini-budget and rising interest rates putting off would-be buyers, along with the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Thomas added: “While the trading backdrop has become more challenging in recent months… we enter the new financial year in a robust financial position with a solid forward order book and we are ready to respond to any further changes in the housing market.”
Total home completions reduced by 3.9% in to 17,206, bouyed by last year’s inflated order book. However, the significant change in reservation activity during the second quarter and the slower rate of reservations from the start of the new calendar year resulted in a 12.8% decline in home completions in the second half.
Thomas said: “We experienced a significant deterioration in demand during the second quarter and, while the position improved during the third quarter, reservations then slowed more than normal seasonal trends from mid-May to the end of June 2023.”
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