Redrow PLC revenues top £1bn as help-to-buy and stamp duty holiday spark sales

’s () first-half revenue topped £1bn as house sales were pulled forward to catch the stamp duty holiday and Help-to-Buy scheme availability.

Revenue jumped by a fifth to £1.04bn in the six months to end-December 2020, said the FTSE 250 housebuilder, as sales completions rose by 20% to 3,065 units.

Reservations in the second half has also been strong, it said, with a rise of 6% over this time a year ago to £819mln with the total order book now worth £1.3bn.

Interim profits rose by 11% to £174mln with the dividend reinstated at 6p per share.

Matthew Pratt, chief executive, said the first-half performance had been helped by a combination of pent-up demand from the first coronavirus lockdown, the introduction of the Stamp Duty holiday and the impending end of the Help-to-Buy scheme for existing homeowners.

In the six weeks to February 5, private reservations in terms of value averaged £265,000 per outlet per week (2020: £298,000).

Pratt added that this compares to a very strong period last year and is also being affected by reduced availability of product created by the strong forward sales position.

“Our private forward sold position of £750m beyond the end of both the original Help-to-Buy scheme and the Stamp Duty holiday, demonstrates the resilience of our target market,” he added.

Redrow had net cash of £238mln at the end of the period.