Taylor Wimpey ramps up land investment despite profit dive

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has increased investment in new land acquisitions despite a 65% fall in profit year-on-year. It reported operating profit of £293m for the year ended 31 December. This compares to £850.5m in 2019 and £880.2m in 2018. Yet the housebuilder anticipates further growth, following a £1.3bn land spree weighted to the second half of the year. After raising fresh equity, it secured 93 sites with 22,600 plots, which Taylor Wimpey said was “significantly ahead of our normal rate of acquisitions”. It said the sites were secured at attractive returns in line with a medium-term operating margin of 21%-22% with an average return on capital employed of around 34%. The housebuilder revealed a 39% drop in completions, attributed to coronavirus lockdowns, and saw cancellations jump from 15% to 20%. Chief executive Pete Redfern said: “While operations were impacted by the shutdown period in the second quarter, the subsequent return to near normal construction capacity and continuing resilience of the UK housing market enabled sales and production to recover strongly towards the end of the year.” To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette