Taylor Wimpey refinancing virtually a done deal

Taylor Wimpey has announced that its £1.57bn refinancing agreement is virtually a done deal.

In a statement to the City this afternoon, the housebuilder said its banks and private placement noteholders had signed off on the deal, which was subject to the formal approval of bondholders at a meeting on 30 April. Over 75% of bondholders have already approved the deal.

Peter Redfern, chief executive, said: “Following complex negotiations, this financing package will allow management to run the business for the benefit of all stakeholders and gives the group flexibility to enable it to trade through the current downturn. Although we remain cautious about market conditions, current trading and the cash generation of the business are both encouraging.”

It also announced a pre-tax loss of £2bn in the year to 31 December 2008 following writedowns of £1.9bn on land and goodwill, a figure that also included a one-off charge of £60m for agreeing the refinancing deal.

Turnover was £3.5bn, which represented a 16% drop on the figure of £4.1bn in 2007.

Despite the poor figures, the company said 2009 has started “at the upper end” of its expectations. Net sales per site in the first 13 weeks of the year were level with the same period in 2008 and 78% up on the second half of 2009.