Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey spent £30m in the first half of the year to replace cladding on its developments in light of the Grenfell tragedy.
The company said most of the provision related to one development in Scotland and took place following a review of all current and legacy buildings with building owners, management companies and the fire service.
Taylor Wimpey said issues around cladding replacement were exceptionally complex and that it had supported customers “both financially and practically with removal and replacement plans… because we believe that it is morally right, not because it is legally required”.
Among a long list of principal risks and uncertainties for the period ahead, it said that Britain leaving the EU with no deal “would be likely to lead to a period of reduced trade, resulting in a negative impact to business and consumer confidence” and “the resulting environment would not support the same level of interest in house purchase as exists today”.
In the broader housebuilding arena it highlighted as threats uncertainty over “the future of the government’s Help to Buy scheme after 2021, the changes to the approach to viability assessments in planning and continuing uncertainty in respect of ground rent terms for leasehold properties”.
However, the housebuilder said that during the first half of 2018 the housing market had been stable across the UK, including London, and that it had seen “no material impact on customers’ ability or desire to purchase a new home”.
As of 22 July, 87% of the firm’s housing stock had been forward sold, with a total order book of £2.27bn, in line with the same period in the previous year.
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