British housebuilder crashes to €670m loss

Struggling British housebuilder Barratt Developments today said it had crashed to losses of almost £600m (€670m) after huge writedowns in land values.

The firm’s pre-tax loss of £592.4m (€670m) in the six months to December 31 compared with a £196.4m (€222m) profit previously.

The bulk of the losses in an “intensely difficult” market came from a £494.9m (€560m) charge to reflect impairment charges on its land bank.

The Leicestershire-based firm’s results come a day after rival Redrow also swung into the red.

Barratt said it had seen “some signs” of increased activity in the market, but warned underlying demand for homes was still being crippled by a lack of mortgages.

“Whilst there still appears to be a strength of demand for new homes, especially against the backdrop of very low production levels, without access to finance this is unlikely to deliver any short-term respite to the industry,” it said.