Bellway sees profit and completions rise but warns on lingering ‘weak consumer sentiment’

Housebuilder Bellway improved profit and completions last year, adding it was planning to return £150m back to shareholders through a buyback programme.

The firm said pre-tax profit in the year to July was up 21% to £222m with the number of completions jumping 14% to 8,749. Turnover rose 17% to £2.8bn.

Chief executive Jason Honeyman said: “While we face some near-term market challenges, we have a high-quality land bank, strong balance sheet and the operational capacity to capitalise on the positive long-term fundamentals of our industry.

“Combined with our refreshed and disciplined approach to capital allocation, I am confident that we can drive increased volume output, cash generation and shareholder returns in FY26 and beyond.”

But the firm warned that since the start of its new financial year “there has been a continuation of weak consumer sentiment which has carried from late spring”.

It added: “Customer demand has been affected by ongoing affordability constraints and uncertainties about potential taxation changes in the government’s Budget in November.”

Bellway said it expected the FY26 average selling price to be around £320,000, compared to last year’s £316,412.

It said its forward order book as of 5 October was 5,285 homes, a 2% rise on last time.

As well as the share buyback, Bellway said the full-year dividend would be 70p, a rise of 30% on last time.

In a note, analyst Investec said: “[The] focus will be on the comments around recent trading and outlook, as well as the buyback. Recent trading, unsurprisingly, remains subdued and flat on last year but it is reassuring that they reiterate their FY26 completions guidance with flattish margins.”