Barratt Redrow deal set to create Britain’s biggest housebuilder
Shareholders have approved the anticipated merger of Barratt and Redrow, in a deal set to be worth £2.5bn.
More than 99% of both companies’ shareholders voted for the merger, which could create a housebuilder capable of delivering more than 22,000 homes a year.
The renamed business – Barratt Redrow – will have a turnover of around £7.4bn.
The deal is currently being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority, with written representations regarding any issues to be submitted by 02 April.
Meanwhile, Vistry Group has announced that it is set to deliver 18,000 completions in 2024 – an increase of over 10% on the 16,118 units completed last year.
In a trading update, the firm says it expects half-year and full-year profit to be ahead of last year, with £800m operating profit delivered in the medium term.
Vistry Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald heralded that the Partnerships model was “clearly demonstrating its market resilience.”
He said: “Working closely with our partners, we are seeing good demand in the Partner Funded market and accompanied by an improving trend for our open market sales, are on track to deliver more than 10% growth in completions in FY24, with half year and full year profit expected to be ahead of last year.”
Home building completions down in Q1
New home registrations and completions have fallen in the first quarter of 2024, according to latest data from the NHBC.
The warranty provider cited economic conditions, weather and skills shortages for the falls, which saw 21,967 new home registrations from January to March; a -20% fall against Q1 2023.
Q1 2024 completions were also down by -13% against Q1 2023, with 26,240 new homes being built. The private sector was worst hit, with a -19% decrease to 15,599 homes. Rental and affordable housing only saw a slight -1% fall.
House builders are cautiously optimistic and it is encouraging to see signs of growth, with a month-on-month increase in registrations since January.
This is despite a cumbersome planning system that continues to impede output and a national skills gap that means almost 225,000 extra workers will be required to meet expected UK construction demand by 2027.
Steve Wood, Chief Executive Officer, NHBC
Meanwhile Homes England have exceeded their housebuilding start and completion targets for 2023/24.
The housing and regeneration body has also facilitated construction starts for 35,000 new homes, beating the target of 32,967.
The final data will be published in June.
Housing View 