Barratt to build on a record number of sites

Barratt Homes is planning to open 90 sites in the next six months and start construction on 13,500 new homes, in a bid to help address Britain's chronic housing supply shortage.

The FTSE 100 housebuilder has reported that it launched 96 new sites from August to December last year, an increase of 5pc on the same period in 2013.

Once the planned 90 sites have opened Barratt will be building its highest number of schemes since the recession.

In this morning's trading update the company's management said the number of completions had increased by 12pc while forward sales were up 17pc on the previous year.

However, the number of people reserving a new home before it has been built has fallen by 13.4pc to 0.58.

Chief executive, Mark Clare, said that 2013 reservation and sales levels were unusually high following the introduction of the Government's Help to Buy scheme.

"With a sales rate of 0.58 net private reservations per active site per week in the period we are on track to deliver our target of 15,700 completions in the financial year 2015. The sales rate in the prior year comparable period was exceptionally high reflecting the launch period of Help to Buy in 2013," Mr Clare said.

However the Barratt share price fell 4.1pc last Friday after an analyst note from Jefferies warned that a shortage of skilled workers, after many fled the industry during the housing market crash, and falling demand for new homes will translate into a tough year for the housing sector.

"There was no doubt the industry was really struggling to recruit skilled labourers last year...and as a result wage inflation grew," Mr Clare explained.

But following a push on training, apprenticeship schemes, and targeting ex-servicemen and women, the problem is becoming less acute, he claimed.

"The issue of a shortage of certain materials has largely gone. Rather than buying materials from overseas we are now back to buying all our bricks and blocks in the UK," he said. "And oil price falls have also taken the edge off building costs."