More bad news for housebuilders

Taylor Wimpey is preparing to sell off a third of the company to a private equity investor after failing to secure a £500m rescue package. The decision would help it avoid raising £500m through a share placement, a source close to the matter told Building magazine.

The source said a US private equity investor would likely purchase a 30% stake in the company, although a deal is probably still months away.

In related news, the Home Builders Federation weekly sales figures showed that net housing reservations fell below zero last week. The number of net reservations per site per week was -0.01, having fallen from 0.16 and 0.19 in the previous two weeks. It's thought that this is the first time in the HBF's history that reservations have fallen below zero.

Last week also saw the total number of job losses in the sector increase to 6,000 this year. Persimmon said it would make 2,000 redundancies after a 31% fall in reservations to 5,501 in the first six months of the year. Bovis will drop 400 of its 930 staff after a 35% fall in sales to 1,482 homes in the first six months. And Redrow is consulting staff about 550 redundancies from its 1,372-strong workforce after reservations fell 55% in six months.

Contract Journal reported that apprenticeships are also being slashed in the face of the housing downturn. It said Perimmon will axe 'a number' of apprentices and will not take on any this year. Barratt said it will not take on any this September. Kier, which took on 18 apprentices last year, said it is 'unlikely' to take on any this year. Crest Nicholson is shelving its apprentice scheme and Lovell Homes will cut back its scheme from 35 last September to 25 this September.