Berkeley says govt regs putting home deliveries under pressure

(Sharecast News) - House builder Berkeley Group reaffirmed earnings guidance but said planned government regulatory changes were putting delivery of new homes under "significant" pressure. The government is introducing the Building Safety Levy, which would see developers contribute to the cost of fixing historic building safety defects, including unsafe fire cladding, to protect leaseholders and taxpayers from bearing the financial burden.

"Berkeley remains concerned by the impact of the extent and pace of regulatory changes of recent years, as we now await details of the new Building Safety Levy," the company said in a trading statement on Friday.

Berkeley said sales enquiries were at a "consistently good level" with a modest improvement in reservations continuing in the four months to February 28. However, it cautioned that there needed to be greater confidence in the path of interest rate cuts and wider economic stability to consolidate any recovery.

For this improvement to continue and sales rates to return closer to the levels of three years ago, there needs to be greater confidence in the trajectory of interest rate reductions and wider economic stability.

Berkeley maintained its earnings forecast for the year to April 30 of £525m and £450m next year.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com