Bovis Help to Buy bonanza

BOVIS Homes promised a £50m dividend bonanza as it became the latest housebuilder to unveil record takings on the back of Help to Buy.

The taxpayer-funded scheme helped lift profits by 47.4pc to £168.1m during 2018, with sales rising 3.2pc to £1.1bn.

But it came as Foxtons reported its first annual loss since listing on the stock market in 2013 as the slowdown in London took its toll on the estate agent.

Bovis’s bumper profits followed strong results from rivals Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, who have also benefited from Help to Buy. The Government scheme lends cash to buyers of new-build homes.

Bovis said nearly 40pc of the homes it sold were purchased through Help to Buy last year. It built about 3,760 homes during that period.

However, Bovis’s announcement was in contrast to a warning from Foxtons and London-focused housebuilder Telford Homes. Foxtons reported a loss of £17.2m for 2018 – down from a £6.5m profit the previous year. That was after sales fell 5pc to £111.5m.

The estate agent said: ‘ The current uncertainty surrounding Brexit is clearly impacting consumer confidence.’

Meanwhile, Telford yesterday slashed its full-year profit prediction by £10m, down from £50m to £40m. It said the London housing market was ‘subdued’.