Chairman of housebuilding firm Redrow has said the vote to leave the EU had not impacted sales, but warned the planning process is difficult
Despite assertions the construction sector would fail in the wake of the vote to leave the EU, housebuilding giant Redrow said it has seen its revenues grow 20 per cent to £1.38bn. This puts the average price of a new home at £288,600.
The Flintshire-based building firm said it had seen very little impact from the Brexit vote, and reported profits rose 23 per cent to a record £250m.
Redrow chair Steve Morgan said he was pleased with the results, but said the planning process still remained “torturous”.
Speaking to the Daily Post, he said: “I am delighted to report that for the third consecutive year Redrow has delivered a record set of results.
“Pre-tax profits were £250m, achieved by completing over 4,700 much needed new homes, a 17 per cent increase over last year.
“Redrow entered the new financial year with a record private order book of £807m, up 54 per cent year on year.
“Sales in the first 10 weeks are very encouraging and up 8 per cent on a strong comparator last year.
“Our strategy of continued growth for the business is on track and I am confident this will be another year of significant progress for Redrow.”
He said demand for homes had remained high throughout the year, buoyed by government schemes and a national push to get the nation buying.
“Our growth in output has benefitted from the Government’s Help to Buy scheme which has continued to be a major support, not only to Redrow, but to the industry as a whole,” he said.
Morgan added the vote to leave the EU had not caused any significant problems for the firm.
“We have seen very little impact as a result of the Brexit vote.
“Redrow has had a very successful year in acquiring land and obtaining planning permission on our forward land holdings, with the owned and contracted land bank increasing to 26,000 plots.
“This gives the group a significant platform for increasing the number of new homes built going forward and to maintain our expansion plans; however obtaining planning through local authorities remains tortuous.”
Redrow has continued to grow from strength to strength. Over the past 12 months the firm said it has increased its workforce from just over 1,600 to just under 2,000—an increase of 19 per cent.
Morgan said: “We continue our commitment to training and development and at the end of June employed 297 trainees across all disciplines, up 22 per cent on 2015.
“The record performances we have achieved in recent years have only been made possible by the hard work and commitment of our people and I would like to thank them for all their efforts in support of the business.”
In the summer, major housebuilder Barratt said it was considering action after a slowdown in the housing market, but added it was too early to know the impact of Brexit on its bottom line.
