Profits dive at Barratt Developments - should you invest in housebuilders?

The fall in profits comes despite excitement about the prospects for housebuilders on the back of Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes.

A sign at the entrance to a Barratt Developments housing estate in Maidstone, UK
Barratt has blamed high interest rates for its profit woes (image: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Bloomberg / Contributor)

Profits have slumped at Barratt Developments, with the housebuilder suggesting high interest rates have depressed the UK housing market. 

For the year ending June 30, profits at Britain's biggest housebuilder plunged 57% to £385m, while turnover fell 22% to £4.17bn. However, Barratt confirmed its previously reported figure of 14,004 home completions for the year.

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Chris Newlands

Chris is a freelance journalist, and was previously an editor and correspondent at the Financial Times as well as the business and money editor at The i Newspaper. He is also the author of the Virgin Money Maker, the personal finance guide published by Virgin Books, and has written for the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, South China Morning Post, TimeOut, Barron's and The Guardian. He is a graduate in Economics.