Taylor Wimpey’s boss welcomes Labour housing reforms for ‘opening up opportunities’
TAYLOR WIMPEY’S boss has welcomed Labour’s housing reforms for “opening up opportunities that didn’t exist yesterday”.
The Government has brought back local housing targets as part of its pledge to have 1.5million new homes by 2029 — and has reclassified the “grey belt” and low-quality green belt land for building.
Jennie Daly, chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, told The Sun that 60 per cent of local authorities did not currently have a five-year pipeline of housing supply and bringing back targets would be a “reset” for the industry.
Taylor Wimpey, one of Britain’s biggest developers, said it will build 10,000 homes this year — more than expected — and has planning applications already in for a further 30,000 potential homes.
It built 4,728 homes in the first half of this year, 7.7 per cent less than last year.
Across the industry, less than 200,000 homes were built in the UK last year, well short of Labour’s 300,000 ambitions. Housebuilders have blamed planning red-tape, council Nimbys and high mortgage rates for snarling up potential developments.
The Bank of England is expected to lower interest rates, perhaps as soon as today, which would also help the industry.
Ms Daly said: “Consumer confidence is stronger and sentiment has recovered, but a rate cut would do a lot to boost it further.”
Her comments came as Taylor Wimpey posted a 58 per cent slip in half-year profits to £99.7million. It was dragged down by putting aside an extra £88million to cover the cost of fixing dangerous cladding on some of its older homes.
Anthony Codling, analyst at RBC, said Taylor Wimpey’s “broad national footprint” put it in an “enviable position to take advantage of planning reform”.
WICKES KITCHEN-SINK DRAMA
SALES of kitchen and bathroom installations have slumped by 18 per cent at home improvement chain Wickes, as customers put off big renovation projects.
It comes after The Sun recently reported that Wickes was cutting 200 jobs in its design and installation division.
The firm said sales in the division had dropped to £166.7million for the first half of the year.
Its retail sales, however, were said to be largely flat at £633.2million.
The business was helped by an 18 per cent increase in the number of plumbers, builders and decorators using its TradePro platform.
Wickes admitted that DIY sales were in “moderate decline as customers continue to focus on smaller projects”.
GAMES GOLD FOR ADIDAS
TOM Daley has helped Team GB sponsor Adidas dive into profits as the sportswear firm called the Olympics start “sensational”.
Athlete Tom won silver in the men’s 10m synchro diving final on Monday, while Adidas confirmed it was on track to make €1billion (£840million) in profits this year.
It said the Euros had boosted its clothing sales by 6 per cent in the second quarter as football fans bought replica kit. Adidas also trumpeted the popularity of its Samba trainers, despite some enthusiasts saying ex-PM Rishi Sunak had “ruined” the shoes for them by being a fan.
It made another €200million selling its remaining stock of Kanye West’s Yeezy trainers. Adidas ended its tie-up with the rapper after he made a series of anti-Semitic remarks.
The firm has been engulfed in a fresh crisis after casting US model Bella Hadid, who is of Palestinian descent, in a shoe campaign that made reference to the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 Israeli team members were killed by Palestinian terrorists.
Boss Bjorn Gulden called the ad a “mistake” but said Ms Hadid was still “a friend of the brand and yes, we pay her according to a contract”, despite reports she was considering suing the company.
Ms Hadid this week criticised the brand’s “lack of sensitivity”.
RIO STAYING PUT
THE London Stock Exchange breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after RIO Tinto ruled out shifting its listing to Oz.
The world’s second biggest miner — and eighth most valuable business on the LSE — has faced activist pressure to follow rival BHP and unify its listing in Australia. But Rio Tinto boss Jakob Stausholm said: “It does not make economic sense.”
Several firms, including Shell, point out London-listed firms are undervalued compared to rivals in overseas markets, while others have left.
METRO IS BANKING ON RALLY
METRO BANK expects a return to profit this year after fighting for survival last autumn.
Investors cheered its comeback yesterday, sending shares soaring by more than a quarter to 50.80p, although the bank is still half the value it was a year ago.
The lender reported a £26.8million pre-tax loss for the six months to June yesterday, a £33million improvement from a year ago.
Boss Daniel Frumkin said it was working on becoming a “more agile bank that is fit for the future”.
The challenger bank has cut 1,000 jobs and scrapped Sunday trading to save around £80million in costs.
It has also been bolstering its balance sheet by selling a £2.5billion mortgage book to NatWest last week.
One of its biggest investors, Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal, saved the bank last autumn with a £925million rescue funding package.
GIVE & TAKEAWAY
BRITS have been splurging on takeaways again as JUST EAT hails its best performance in Britain in three years.
Sales in the UK and Ireland rose by 9 per cent to £2.9billion during the first half of this year, it reported.
The food app said orders had returned to growth after the peak of the cost-of-living crisis, while fans watching the Euros also boosted sales.
Just Eat’s UK business outshone the rest of its global operations, with overall sales dipping by 1 per cent to £2.2billion.