Housebuilder Berkeley said in a trading update that the extensive regulatory changes taking place in the housing sector were putting substantial pressure on new home deliveries.
The company said homebuyer enquiries were at a “consistently good level”, and that it had seen a “modest improvement” in bookings in the four months to 28 February.
It said the UK housing sector had seen significant regulatory reforms in recent years that were aimed at bolstering building safety and rectifying systemic issues but these were delaying developments.
The housebuilder reaffirmed its earnings guidance to deliver at least £975m of pretax profit across FY25 and FY26.
Berkeley expects its net cash to be around £300m at 30 April 2025, reflecting an acceleration of shareholder returns since the half-year through share buy-backs and the anticipated settlement of some £180m of land creditors in the second half of the year.
In a statement, the housebuilder said: “We remain hugely encouraged by the change in mindset over planning, brought about by the government’s planning reforms and housing delivery ambitions which we fully support. In the period, Berkeley has made good progress, securing important amendments on 10 of our long-term regeneration sites. We are now working with our local authority partners to finalise the section 106 agreements and clear conditions on a number of these so they can be implemented. We are also actively appraising a number of opportunities in the land market.
“Nonetheless, Berkeley remains concerned by the impact of the extent and pace of regulatory changes of recent years, as we now await details of the new Building Safety Levy. Taken together, these incremental changes place significant pressure on the delivery of new homes.”
Send feedback to Akanksha Soni
