Bellway sees 10% rise in full year completions

House builder Bellway said it expected full year completions to rise by at least 10% over the 7,752 achieved in 2015.

In a trading statement for the period 1 February to 5 June, Bellway also reported an 8% increase in the weekly reservation rate to 196 per week due to “robust” market conditions, positive customer demand and good accessibility to affordable mortgage finance.

“Against this backdrop, there has been an encouraging start to the second half of the financial year, with the rate of reservation improving throughout the traditionally stronger spring months.,” the company said.

“Demand for affordably priced homes remains healthy and has been further supported by the introduction of London Help to Buy on 1 February 2016, enabling customers to purchase a new home with an increased equity share proportion of up to 40%. As a consequence, the usage of Help to Buy has risen to some 14% of reservations in the capital compared with 4% in 2015,” Bellway added.

“Notwithstanding the uncertainty surrounding the impending EU referendum, the group has not experienced any noticeable effect on trading, with customer confidence continuing to be strong and the cancellation rate remaining low at just 11% (2015 – 10%).”

Chief executive Ted Ayres said: “The continued positive trading environment, the availability of good quality land opportunities and disciplined investment in an expanding divisional structure are enabling Bellway to continue delivering ongoing volume growth. This strategy for growth, together with a focus on return on capital employed, should lead to another record performance in the year ending 31 July 2016, resulting in further value creation for shareholders.”