Bellway has recorded a 17% increase in its housing revenue, which totalled just over £2.76bn in the year to 31 July.

The housebuilder reported in its latest trading update that its house completions increased by 14.3% annually, while its overall average selling price totalled £316,000. Both figures were slightly ahead of previous guidance.

The firm added that it had continued with a disciplined approach to land acquisition and almost doubled the number of plots it has purchased year-on-year, reaching 8,120. Bellway said this reflects the strength of its land bank and drive for capital efficiency.

Bellway’s balance sheet totalled £42m in the year to the end of July, which was in line with board’s expectations.

Group chief executive at Bellway, Jason Honeyman, said that the firm has delivered a “solid performance despite ongoing headwinds” for the industry.

He added: "There was good growth in volume output and an improvement in underlying margin which are set to drive a strong increase in profits for FY25. We have entered the new financial year with a healthy forward order book and outlet opening programme and, if market conditions remain stable, we are well-positioned to deliver further growth in FY26.

"We have a high-quality land bank and the operational capacity across the group to support our plans to deliver long-term volume growth."

Bellway stated that despite softer market conditions in recent months, it has entered the new financial year with a healthy order book.

The housebuilder expects to deliver further growth in volume output in the 2026 financial year to around 9,200 homes and increase its cash generation for shareholder returns.

Furthermore, Bellway said that its industry should benefit from the Government’s recently planning reforms in the years ahead, although it continues to experience delays to planning decisions as local authorities adopt new local plans.

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, said that while Bellway’s trading update has shown "some grounds for optimism", its share price is not showing "any great interest", which he has attributed to wider fears about the pace of the Bank of England base rate cuts and the overall trajectory of the UK economy.

He concluded: "Bellway is certainly positioning itself for better times ahead. Although we have not yet seen the full set of accounts for the year to June 2025, Bellway built inventory in each of the prior four years, either by accident or design, with the result that the company had over 850 days’ inventory as of June 2024.

"An uptick in demand, and completions, would allow the company to sell that housing stock, and not just boost sales and profits.

"Providing the UK economy does not turn turtle, and take housing demand down with it, Bellway may just be getting ready for a share buyback scheme, which could make sense at a time when the shares trade below their last stated tangible net asset, or book, value per share. Buying back stock when it is trading below book value should be automatically value accretive, as it is the equivalent, in Bellway’s case, of buying pound coins at barely 85 pence apiece."

Bellway will announce its full-year results on 14 October.

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