Bellway forecasts average selling price will top £305k in hiked guidance
Property developer Bellway has said it expects its average selling price to be more than £305,000, up on previous guidance.
In half-year results, revenue rose 3.5 per cent to £1,780m, up slightly on 2021’s figure of £1,720m.
The housing developer said the forward visibility provided by the order book meant that the average selling price is now expected to be over £305,000 for the full financial year. This was an improvement on previous guidance and pushed by mix and pricing benefits.
Eyes have been on property developers as of late as the sector approaches a government deadline to formulate a plan on how housebuilders will contribute billions to fix building fire safety issues including dangerous cladding.
Bellway said it had provided an additional £22.1m, before recoveries of £2.5m, to help fix historical fire safety issues.
In total, since 2017, the developer had provided some £186.8m, after looking back 10-12 years, it said.
“We take very seriously the issue of building safety and agree with the principle that residents should not have to fund life-critical fire safety remedial works,” Bellway chairman Paul Hampden Smith said.
He added: “We are engaging positively with Government and are participating in ongoing discussions to establish a sector-wide solution to address historical, industry wide critical fire safety issues on older buildings.”
In a first-take note, analysts at Investec said “uncertainty around cladding and fire safety issues remain with the group.”
Bellway confirmed that a significant additional provision would be required if it has to look back on a 30-year basis, rather than 10-12 years as it has done already.
Investec analysts estimated that this could mean an additional £320m provision, which would be 8.5 – nine per cent of net assets.
Shares dropped some two per cent when markets opened on Tuesday morning.