Finance
UK homebuilder berkeley reaffirms profit forecast amid mideast uncertainty
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 13, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 13, 2026
Berkeley Group reaffirmed its FY2026 pre‑tax profit guidance of £450 million and expects a similar result for FY2027, while warning that the Middle East conflict is denting risk appetite and may add inflationary and rate pressures.
March 13 (Reuters) - High-end homebuilder Berkeley reaffirmed its annual profit guidance on Friday, but cautioned that the conflict in the Middle East was weighing on risk sentiment amid the prospect of prolonged inflationary and interest-rate pressures.
The British company expects to report a pre-tax profit of 450 million pounds ($598.28 million) for the year through April and a similar level for fiscal 2027, as it focuses on cash generation and optimising its land holdings and build-to-rent strategy.
Berkeley said that while sales enquiries remain healthy and underlying reservations were recovering towards summer levels, the trading environment from November 2025 to February this year was constrained by geopolitical events and macro-economic uncertainty.
While high living costs and elevated interest rates in the UK have already squeezed affordability for buyers, particularly in Berkeley’s core markets, the ongoing Middle East conflict has added to concerns that construction costs could rise further and hurt consumer sentiment.
"We are working hard to counter the challenges we face and we are reviewing our planning consents to enhance and restore margins to the appropriate level to enable moving them into production," the company said in a statement.
($1 = 0.7522 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
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The conflict in the Middle East has created uncertainty and weighed on risk sentiment, adding pressure to construction costs and buyer confidence.
Berkeley faces challenges from high living costs, elevated interest rates, and macro-economic uncertainty impacting the UK housing market.
Berkeley is focusing on cash generation, optimizing land holdings, build-to-rent strategy, and reviewing planning consents to restore margins.
While sales enquiries remain healthy, underlying reservations were constrained from November to February due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty.