Bellway’s revenue hit as housing completions tumble

Bellway delivered a third fewer homes in the year ending 31 July as stagnation in the market at the beginning of the year hit completions. The group completed just 7,654 homes over the 12-month period, compared with almost 11,000 in 2023. The decline in completions hit revenue, which fell by 30.1% to £2.4bn, down from £3.4bn a year earlier. Pre-tax profit more than halved, dropping by 57.5%  to £238.1m. Profit took a £5.4m hit when the housebuilder withdrew its £720m offer for Crest Nicholson, and the firm is facing a £37m bill relating to structural defects it is bound to fix as part of fire safety regulations. Bellway said customer demand remained robust, strengthened by an overall reduction in mortgage rates. The firm said that, in the nine weeks since 1 August, reservation rates increased by 48.5% to 147 per week, and that its forward order book now topped 5,100 homes, with a value of more than £1.4bn. The housebuilder said the strength of its forward order book provided it with “an excellent platform to deliver a material increase in volume output in financial year 2025”. It said that, if market conditions remained stable, it was aiming to complete at least 8,500 homes in the current financial year – an 11% increase on 2004, but still 22% down on 2023. Chief executive Jason Honeyman said: “While a lower order book at the beginning of the financial year drove the reduction in the number of housing completions, customer demand through the second half benefited from a moderation in mortgage interest rates which has eased affordability pressures and supported an increase in reservations. “The combination of these improving trading conditions and our strong outlet opening programme has generated a healthy increase in the year-end order book. As a result, we are well-placed to deliver a material increase in volume output in financial year 2025.”