The biggest property developer in Britain has urged politicians tackle the house building crisis as it unveiled a £2.5bn takeover of a rival.
Barratt Developments, the country’s largest housebuilder, announced plans to buy competitor Redrow in a deal that will allow the combined company to build around 22,000 homes each year.
David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt, warned that the UK is not building enough properties to meet demand.
He welcomed Labour and Conservative promises to respond to the problem but suggested that a clear plan for doing so is needed before the looming general election.
Asked if he was concerned that politicians were doing too little to deal with the crisis, Mr Thomas said: “Clearly, as a country, we are just not building enough houses, I mean, that is the beginning and the end of it.
“I don’t think that either of the political parties believe that we are building enough houses. And if you look at what they’re saying, they are expecting more houses to be built.”
It came as Barratt revealed profits of £157m for the last six months of 2024, down 70pc on a year earlier. The number of homes built by the business dropped 28pc to 6,171.
Meanwhile, Redrow reported a 27pc plunge in revenue to £756m over the same period.
The Government has set a target for 300,000 new homes to be built each year but this has repeatedly been missed. Completions fell by 8pc to 231,000 in 2023.
Planning red tape has been criticised for holding back developments and empowering so-called nimbies who are against new estates.
