Taylor Wimpey’s decision to raise a wad of cash to buy more land in the midst of the pandemic irked investors. Former chief executive Pete Redfern, who left this year, might feel cheated out of a chance of vindication.
Building a sizeable land bank means the housebuilder has managed to avoid the planning delays that tripped up rival Persimmon last month. Completion volumes in the first half of this year came in ahead of expectations, which makes a target of low-single digit annual growth for the year more feasible. Having more land meant the number of new outlets opened was higher in the first half than in the same period last year.
The average price is expected to accelerate to 4-5 per cent over the
