Redrow asks for greater clarity on Brexit

HOUSEBUILDER REDROW has urged the Government to provide clarity over Brexit as it reported soaring annual profits.

The group booked a 21 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to a record £380m in the year to June 30 as revenue grew 16 per cent to £1.92bn.

Legal completions rose 9 per cent to 5,913 and the average selling price hit £332,300.

But the results contained a warning that if the house building boom is to continue, Theresa May’s Tory Government must provide clarity over Brexit, as well as the future of Help to Buy.

Steve Morgan, chairman of Redrow, said: “Redrow is committed to growing our output to help the country’s requirement to increase the number of new homes built.

“However, there is no doubt that clarity over Brexit and the future of Help to Buy would improve market sentiment. Given that clarity, we will continue to deliver.”

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Help to Buy will be scrapped in 2021 and the Conservatives remain firmly in a Brexit quagmire.

The housing market, particularly in London and the South East, has slowed markedly since the Brexit vote as the economy stutters and demand plummets.

But this did not stop Redrow reporting a record order book of £1.1bn and proposed a final dividend of 19p per share, leading to a total payout of 28p, a 65 per cent hike from the year before.

“We have a very strong forward order book, first class land holdings, an excellent balance sheet and we are able to react quickly to changing circumstances,” Mr Morgan added.

Operating margin rose to 19.9 per cent from 19.4 per cent the previous year.

Its number of employees was up 5 per cent to 2,300.

The firm also said it had added 7,455 plots to its current land holdings.