Analysis shows that volume builders will make £2.1bn in 2014

New-build, housing, houses, housebuilding, homes

Profits at the UK’s top 10 housebuilders have jumped by a third this year, according to an analysis carried out by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

It shows that the volume builders will generate £2.1bn worth of pre-tax profits in 2014, a 34% increase compared to the £1.56bn recorded in 2013. This figure itself represents a near threefold increase compared to the previous year.

The sector’s returns have been buoyed by the government’s Help to Buy scheme, which has guaranteed loans for would-be new homeowners, according to the bureau.

Steve Turner, spokesman for the Home Builders Federation, said: “The industry was devastated in the financial crash, profits initially fell very steeply, or disappeared into losses, and many companies disappeared. Only now are profits returning to pre-crash levels allowing companies to rebuild, restructure and replace lost capacity.”