Restructuring costs hit builder

PROFITS at McCarthy & Stone have plunged by two thirds after the retirement home builder was stung by turnaround costs.

The company said it had taken a £14m hit as it prepared for a slowdown in the housing market.

Costs included 200 redundancies, office closures, consultants fees and a reduction in the size of the company’s land portfolio.

Profits for the six months to February 28 were £3.6m, compared with £10.5m a year ago.

But sales rose from £760m to £845m over the period, and chief executive John Tonkiss said: ‘We are making significant progress across our strategic objectives.’

Shares in McCarthy rose 1pc, or 1.2p, to 127.5p.