Housebuilder says firms trying to mitigate impact of tax hilkes
Taylor Wimpey said it is on track to hit its profit expectations for the year but warned of increasing cost pressures.
In a short trading update this morning, the housebuilder said it expects to post operating profit of around £416m 2024, in line with its previous guidance.
It completed 10,593 homes in the period, slightly more than the 9,500-10,000 range it had previously forecast – although the total was marginally down on the 10,843 built in 2023.
But the housebuilder also warned that last autumn’s Budget, which increased taxes on businesses including a hike on National Insurance employer contributions, will likely lead to cost pressures this year.
It said: “While price negotiations for 2025 are ongoing, we anticipate increased build cost pressure as a result of the changed economic backdrop, including as suppliers seek to factor in the impacts of the recent UK Budget.”
But Taylor Wimpey did welcome the government’s package of reforms to the planning system. It said: “A well-functioning planning system is key to achieving the government’s aims for growth in housebuilding.” It added the recently revised National Planning Policy Framework was “a positive step for the industry”.
The government’s planning reforms includes the return of mandatory local housing targets and a new method to calculate them, along with measures to release green belt land for housing and proposals to bypass local planning committees where schemes comply with local and national policies.
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