Builder record high

SHARES in Bellway hit a record high after it said the housing market was ‘robust’ in the run-up to the election.

The builder said 221 new homes a week were reserved by buyers between February 1 and June 4 – up 13pc on reservations of 196 a week in the same period last year. It expects com- pleted sales to rise nearly 10pc in the year to the end of July, after 8,721 deals last year. Shares rose 6.1pc, or 175p, to 3025p.

Anthony Codling, an analyst at Jefferies International, said: ‘Business is brisk. The election did little to shock the home-buying public.’