HOUSEBUILDER Barratt is planning to open around eight new sites in the North East by the summer in what it said was a show of confidence in the region.
The Newcastle-founded company, Britain’s biggest housebuilder by volume, is aiming to start work on around 100 additional sites nationally by the end of its financial year in June.
It revealed the plans as it published its interim results showing a radical reduction in losses and steady sales for the six months to December 31.
Pre-tax losses fell to £4.6m in the six months to the end of December, from £178.4m a year earlier while revenue was up slightly to £877.6m from £872.4m.
Both selling prices and the company’s margins increased, with the average cost of a Barratt home jumping to £175,800 from £166,300. However, the number of completions dipped slightly to 4,832 compared to 5,053 last year.
Group financial officer David Thomas said: “We definitely feel we made good progress. The autumn selling period, all the house builders would say it was a very challenging season with the Government’s comprehensive spending review and then the bad weather. But we continued to hold prices and we have more than doubled our margin.
“We are off to a good start in terms of spring selling. The North East division sold 80 homes since January 1 with a value of £13m.
“In the next six months, we will open eight more developments in the area. The site openings are a very significant reflection of our confidence in the area.”
There are currently 20 Barratt sites in the region and the company employs 200 people plus subcontractors in the North East.
Nationally, Barratt had 366 sites at the end of 2010. It opened 52 during its first half, when it spent £318m on land.
But the company remains concerned about the lack of availability of mortgage finance which is hampering a faster return to growth in housing market.
Mr Thomas said: “An average price for us is around £180,000 in the UK. The loan values available are typically 80% so people need a £30,000 to £40,000 deposit.
“We are stepping in and finding shared equity deals – described as interest-free loans to our customers. Around 30% of our sales have shared equity.
“This position has existed since January 2009 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. The Government initially stepped in with HomeBuy Direct but it stopped in September last year.
“We don’t see any change in this in the next 12 months.”
Barratt’s forward sales were worth £893.5m by February 20, an increase of 5.4% on the year before.
