(Bloomberg) -- Vistry Group Plc, a builder focused on affordable housing, says the UK’s plan to reintroduce housing targets will help it to ramp up development.
The builder said it was on track to deliver more than 18,000 homes in 2024, compared with around 16,000 a year earlier, according to a statement Thursday. It said it was “encouraged by the direction” of Labour’s policy changes and expects the Autumn Statement to include further initiatives around funding.
“The group’s growth strategy and greater delivery of affordable housing is well aligned to the new government’s ambitions to address the country’s housing crisis,” Chief Executive Officer Greg Fitzgerald said in the statement.
The ruling Labour Party laid out proposals to boost development this summer, promising to restore mandatory local housebuilding targets that were ditched by the previous Conservative government. While planning reforms will take time to implement, UK lenders are already preparing for an an increase in development finance if the plans come to fruition.
Vistry’s total completions increased by 9% in the first half to 7,792, helped by its focus on partnerships during a weaker period for the housing market. The company’s adjusted operating profit increased 10% year-on-year to £227.3 million ($299 million), while forward sales rose 19% from the previous year to £5.1 billion.
The homebuilder announced a share buyback of £130 million starting this month and expected to be completed by May 2025.
Still, the number of new homes completed in England fell to the lowest since 2020’s first Covid lockdown between January and March, largely due to high interest rates, according to the Office for National Statistics.
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