Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
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Barratt Redrow reports slower autumn bookings as UK budget concerns loom, impacting the homebuilder market. Despite challenges, annual completion targets are maintained.
(Reuters) -Barratt Redrow on Wednesday became the latest British homebuilder to report slower bookings during the key autumn selling season, as potential buyers hold back ahead of the UK budget.
But Britain's largest homebuilder maintained its annual completions target and its shares were up 1.5% in early trading.
Barratt Redrow said the net private reservation rate per week excluding joint ventures - an indicator of near-term demand - came in at 0.57 for the June 30 to October 26 period. That was slower than 0.59 in the prior year but slightly better than the 0.55 reported for June 30 to August 24.
"We have delivered a resilient performance over the period despite challenging market conditions and increased uncertainty ahead of the November Budget," Barratt Redrow CEO David Thomas said in a statement.
Fears of further property tax hikes in the upcoming UK budget have dampened housing market activity, prompting Barratt Redrow to warn in September of limited growth in the new fiscal year.
Other homebuilders, including Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, and Vistry have also flagged a challenging start to autumn sales.
INVESTORS WORRY ABOUT UK BUDGET
Barratt said its forward order book for the June 30-October 26 period including joint ventures edged down to 10,669 homes from 10,706 a year earlier despite the total value rising to 3.28 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) from 3.21 billion pounds on higher average selling prices.
It said there was no contribution from private rental sector sales and other multi-unit sales.
Separately on Wednesday, floor coverings distributor Headlam warned it would miss full-year expectations after revenue fell 5%, highlighting broader weakness across Britain's construction and home improvement sectors.
Barratt expects home completions of between 17,200 and 17,800 for the year ending June 2026, but warned that its performance could be affected by the impact of the upcoming budget on demand.
($1 = 0.7451 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Josephine Mason and Edwina Gibbs)
Annual completions refer to the total number of residential properties that are completed and ready for occupancy within a year. This metric is crucial for assessing the housing supply in a market.
The net private reservation rate is a measure of demand in the housing market, indicating the number of homes reserved by buyers over a specific period, excluding joint ventures.
An investor's forward order book is a record of future sales or reservations for properties, indicating the expected demand and financial performance of a real estate company.
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