Taylor Wimpey PLC resumes dividend and sets aside £125mln for fire safety repairs

PLC () said it has set aside £125mln to cover fire safety repairs to apartment blocks in the wake of new recommendations following the Grenfell Tower inquiry.

The housebuilder also restarted dividend payments after suspension due to the COVID-19 lockdown in March, with a final dividend of 4.14p costing £151mln.

A FTSE 100 constituent, said the fire safety issue was a complex and exceptional situation but it had decided to fund and carry out remediation of buildings it still owns, though it will not pay for a building where there is a new owner.

In those instances, it said it will make a contribution to the cost of bringing a building up to current guidelines if a freeholder makes a fair and proportionate plan for fire safety works.

In the year to end-December 2020, posted lower numbers due to the impact of the lockdown with revenues 36% lower at £2.79bn and profits down 68% at £264mln.

Housing completions dropped by 39% to 9,609 units though prices rose by 5.9% on average to £323,000.

Pete Redfern, chief executive, said the housing market had stayed resilient during the year with operational capacity now almost back to pre-pandemic levels with sales strong.

2021 had also started well, he said, following on from the strong second half and the group had already sold more than 50% of expected completions while the order book had risen to £2.79bn. The number of affordable homes in the mix will be less than normal, he added.

Net cash at the year-end rose to £719mln from £546mln.