Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9683H

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) PLC

20 March 2015

 



The Berkeley Group Holdings plc

Interim Management Statement

Period from 1 November 2014 to 28 February 2015

20 March 2015

The Berkeley Group Holdings plc ("Berkeley" or "the Group") today announces its Interim Management Statement which covers the period from 1 November 2014 to 28 February 2015.

The delivery of new housing is central to many debates in advance of the General Election, and there is an acknowledgement across the board that there is an undersupply of new housing. Berkeley is in construction on 64 sites across London and the South of England, employing some 12,000 people on these sites every day. All of our sites that have an implementable planning consent are in construction. We continue to build some 10% of London's affordable housing and are focused on creating great places where our customers can enjoy a good quality of life now and in the future.

Policies adopted by the Government in power after the Election need to continue to encourage the investment necessary to fund the delivery of new homes and places, and a stable operating environment in terms of regulation, taxation and planning is crucial to this.

With the return to normal trading conditions over the course of this financial year from a high point in 2013, we continue to see good demand for new homes in London and the South of England. The strength of Berkeley's balance sheet continues to be supported by cash due over the next three years on forward sales which remains at the level reported at the half year. The Group is currently ungeared, with some £400 million of net cash following the payment of £122 million of dividends in January 2015.

Under the Group's long-term scheme to return £13 per share to shareholders by 2021, a further 90 pence per share is payable in order to meet the first milestone under this scheme of paying £4.34 per share by September 2015. Berkeley reiterates its current intention to meet a proportion of the next milestone of £4.33 per share by September 2018 through regular dividends, with the quantum and timing of such dividends being subject to prevailing market conditions, and to use any surplus capital generated to reinvest in the business or fund further dividend payments or share buybacks if appropriate.

Berkeley has continued to make good progress on its land holdings in the period. One new site in Reading has been acquired unconditionally by St Edward and a detailed planning consent has been secured on two pipeline sites at Hornsey and Kingston which are now unconditional and have been delivered into the land holdings. We have secured a further 7 new consents on our existing land holdings, all of which enhance our capacity to deliver more homes in the future. Following the announcement on 7 November 2014 of the launch of St William, a new joint venture with National Grid, we continue to work on unlocking the first ten sites.

With the progress made so far this year, the Board reiterates its previous guidance on full year earnings for the next three years to 30 April 2015, 2016 and 2017.

In terms of Board appointments, and further to previous announcements, Berkeley is now pleased to confirm that Richard Stearn will re-join the Group as Finance Director on 13 April 2015.

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For further information please contact:

The Berkeley Group Holdings plc                                                           Novella Communications

R C Perrins                                                                                          Tim Robertson

T: 01932 868 555                                                                                  T: 020 3151 7008

 

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