UK builders braced for backlash as Barratt and Redrow prepare to report record profits
The row over the taxpayer-funded Help to Buy scheme will ignite again this week when two of Britain’s biggest housebuilders report record profits.
Barratt said it expects to reveal pre-tax earnings of £910m on Wednesday – a rise of 9pc – while analysts expect Redrow to unveil profits of £392m the following day, an 8pc increase.
The market for new builds has remained buoyant thanks to Government-funded loans for first-time buyers and cheap mortgages.
Construction companies Barratt and Redrow are expected to announce bumper profits this week, which will cause another row over Help to Buy – which makes up a third of the homes sold by each firm
Help to Buy accounts for roughly one third of the homes sold by both companies.
A row first erupted when former Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn was awarded a £75m bonus on the back of record profits.
Berkeley faces a revolt over pay from investors on Friday after City adviser, Institutional Shareholder Services, called for the company’s policy to be voted down.
It said it would be too easy for executives to win generous payouts from the long-term bonus scheme, the Telegraph reported.
Berkeley’s chairman and founder Tony Pidgley has been paid more than £100m in the last 15 years, including £29m in 2017.