黑洞社区

Barratt has said it is cooling on its development plans post-Brexit, in what one analyst described as the housebuilder 鈥渞aising a red flag鈥�.

In a trading update this morning the firm said it was 鈥渢oo early鈥� to gauge the full impact, but said it had nonetheless kicked in 鈥渃ontingency plans鈥� in response to 鈥済reater uncertainty鈥� created by the UK voting to leave the EU.

The firm said: 鈥淲e have taken appropriate measures to reduce our risk, such as reassessing land approvals, as we continue to monitor the market.鈥�

Barratt鈥檚 share price dropped around 2% in early trading after the statement. Like many housebuilders, Barratt鈥檚 share price is well down post-Brexit with its share price down 30% since polls closed on 23 June.

Commenting on today鈥檚 update, Tony Williams, analyst at 黑洞社区 Value, said: 鈥淭his is Barratt raising a red flag. It鈥檚 a nimble, focussed and market-sensitive business, and this is a sensible precaution. It has its finger on the pulse of the market and knows it better than most.鈥�

Barratt鈥檚 comments come after housing developer Abbey, which operates across both the UK and Ireland, also said Brexit would have a negative impact yesterday, saying: 鈥淭he impact of Brexit will emerge over future reporting periods but there is no doubt that the Referendum outcome is a material short term negative shock.鈥�

In its trading update, Barratt said it expected to post a 20% jump in pre-tax profit for the year to June 2016 in results to be published in September.

The firm said the rise was driven in part by an increased number of completed homes, growth in the average selling prices of its houses and an increase in its share of profits from JVs.

Barratt chief executive David Thomas (pictured) said: 鈥淔ollowing the EU referendum, it is too early to say what the impact of the uncertainty facing the UK economy will be.

鈥淭he sector continues to receive focused government support, mortgage availability is good and there remains an undersupply of new homes.鈥�