Berkeley Group Holdings (LSE:BKG) delivered a resilient set of full-year numbers for the year ended 30 April, with net cash rising to £363 million and profit before tax reported for the period, but the company's starkest message was directed at policymakers: London is completing fewer than one in ten of the homes its own government targets require.
The premium housebuilder and urban regeneration specialist completed 4,076 homes directly plus a further 127 through joint ventures, broadly flat against 4,047 and 282 respectively in the prior year, with 90% built on brownfield land.
Cash due on forward sales fell to £1,006 million from £1,403 million a year earlier, with legal completions running ahead of reservation rates and underlying sales reservations 15% lower, as the lack of urgency in the market weighed on forward commitments more than spot transactions.
Operating costs fell 6% year on year despite inflationary pressures, and the company's land holdings carry £6.4 billion of embedded future gross margin.
Under its rephased Berkeley 2035 strategy, the group is now targeting £1.4 billion in pre-tax profit over the four years from FY27 to FY30, alongside a 15% return on capital in its core business, acknowledging an 11% to 15% range in the interim.
Executive Chair Rob Perrins said the apartment development timeline in London had lengthened from five years a decade ago to at least eight years today, with no certainty of consent at the end of the process.
Bank facilities were refinanced after the year end on a new five-year term, with borrowing capacity increased from £1.2 billion to £1.4 billion, giving total liquidity of £1.8 billion.
