Barratt Redrow shrugs off Middle East turmoil to hold profit forecast | Construction Enquirer News

Barratt Redrow said it remains on track to hit FY26 targets, but warned the real impact of the Middle East conflict is likely to land later this year through higher energy-driven materials costs. In a third quarter trading update, the house builder said it remains on track to deliver between 17,200 and 17,800 completions this year, including around 600 from joint ventures, with adjusted pre-tax profit due to land in line with market forecasts of £568m. Bosses said trading had stayed solid, with the private reservation rate edging up to 0.64 per outlet per week from 0.62 a year ago. Including PRS and other multi-unit deals, the rate improved to 0.67 from 0.63. Forward sales were also up strongly climbing 11% to £3.54bn at 29 March, with the group now 94% forward sold for FY26. Barratt Redrow said year-end net cash is now expected to come in around £150m ahead of previous guidance at up to £650m, helped by lower land spend and the timing of legacy building safety payments. The group has also turned more cautious on land buying. It now expects to approve between 7,000 and 9,000 plots this year, down from previous guidance of 10,000 to 12,000. While build cost inflation guidance for FY26 remains unchanged at around 2%, the firm said higher energy costs are likely to push up materials prices next year. Chief executive David Thomas said: “Despite heightened macroeconomic uncertainty, we expect the Middle East conflict to have limited impact on FY26 performance, given our strong ...