But housbuilder’s boss calls on government to reduce stamp duty and support first-time buyers
Bellway built 9,695 homes in its most recent financial year, beating its previous guideline for the figure.
In a trading update for the year to 31 July 2026, issued this morning, the housebuilder recorded a 10.8% increase on the 8,749 homes it had built the year prior.
The latest completions figure was in excess of the previously guided range of 9,300 to 9,500 homes, which Bellway attributed primarily to “a strong conversion from bulk sales pipeline”.
The builder expects underlying profit to be around £320m, up from £303.5m, and announced its plan for a £50m share buyback programme, following the completion of the current £150m programme later this month.
The group noted that, similar to the previous year, customer demand through the autumn had been “impacted by uncertainty ahead of the government’s Budget”, with improvement in early spring before a moderation since April in response to higher mortgage rates. Incentive usage in the ear averaged around 5%, up from 4.1%.
Jason Honeyman, chief executive, called on the government to “improve access to housing across all tenures, both by helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder and supporting the delivery of affordable and social housing for those who need it most”.
“In order to ease affordability constraints and stimulate demand, an immediate reduction in Stamp Duty alongside a Government-backed deposit support scheme for first-time buyers would both drive economic growth and accelerate the delivery of much-needed new homes across the country,” he said.
The group’s full, audited results will be published on 13 October 2026.
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