The UK’s biggest housebuilders have paid shareholders £16bn in dividends over the last 18 years, while failing to significantly increase the supply of new homes, according to a report.
Researchers from Sheffield Hallam University found the eight largest firms paid shareholders 260% more in 2022 than 2005.
The firms are Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Berkeley, Bellway, Redrow, Bovis and Crest Nicholson.
Their dividends payments totalled £1.8bn in 2022, representing 47% of pretax profit.
The annual number of homes built increased by 23%, from 66,902 in 2005 to 82,288 in 2022.
Firms paid an average of more than £22,000 in dividends for each unit built.
The report calls on the government to “curb excessive shareholder returns and capture more value for reinvestment”.
