FTSE 250 housebuilder Bellway reported a jump in housing revenue and completions on Tuesday amid strong demand.
In an update for the year to the end of July 2021, the company said housing revenue rose 41% to £3.1bn – just 2.5% below the housing revenue generated in 2019 – with completions up 34.8% to 10,138.
Bellway hailed “good underlying demand” across the country, with a private reservation rate of 169 per week, up from 141 in 2020 and 160 in 2019.
The company also highlighted a record forward sales position, with an order book comprising 7,082 homes compared to 6,588 in 2020 and 4,878 in 2019, at a value of £2.02bn.
“The pricing environment remains positive, with house price inflation, which is benefitting selected sites in localities where demand is particularly strong, generally offsetting build cost pressures,” Bellway said.
“There remain manageable short-term constraints in the supply chain and intermittent labour shortages across the sector as colleagues, subcontractors and suppliers are subject to self-isolation requirements to curtail the spread of Covid-19.”
