Housebuilder Bellway has reported a rise in the number of homes finished across the last six months and a stronger order book.
Total housing completions grew 11.9% to 4,577 homes in the half year to the end of January while the firm's private reservation rate, per outlet, per week, grew 18.6% to 0.51. Bosses told investors on the London Stock Exchange the group is on target to deliver at least 8,500 homes across the full year - ahead of last year's 7,654.
They were said to be encouraged by a pick-up in the customer interest and reservation rates in the early part of the important spring selling season but remained cautious about mortgage affordability and the economy. Bellway's average selling price was slightly ahead of the prior period at £310,600, compared with £309,278. Housing revenue increased 12% to £1.42bn across the first half, compared with £1.26bn in 2024.
The Newcastle-based builder, which has sites all over the country and was trading from 245 at the end of January, said it had not seen a step-up in reservations during the autumn as it might normally. But trading was said to be stable throughout the period with the firm's forward order book at January 31, including 4,726 homes with a value of £1.31bn, up from 3,790 with a value of just over £1.2bn.
Land buying was ramped up during the period with the group agreeing to buy 5,246 owned and controlled plots across 32 sites at a total contract value of £378.2m, compared with 1,237 plots across nine sites at a value of £103.4m in 2024. The group also said it had bolstered its strategic land bank by agreeing to buy 11 sites, compared with 10 last year.
The company repeated its welcome to the Government's reform to the planning system and said it was "very well-placed to deliver volume growth in the years ahead".
Jason Honeyman, group chief executive, said: "Bellway has delivered a strong first half performance in challenging market conditions. While mortgage interest rates have increased modestly since the autumn, customer demand has remained robust, and the group has a healthy order book to support our targeted growth in volume output for the full year.
"The group has a strong balance sheet and land bank, and we remain very well-positioned to capitalise on future growth opportunities while continuing to play an important role in meeting the growing need for new homes across the country."
