Final Results

Bellway PLC
17 October 2000

NATIONAL HOUSEBUILDER BELLWAY p.l.c. TODAY (TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2000) ANNOUNCE
THEIR PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2000

HIGHLIGHTS
                                                2000       1999      Increase
  * TURNOVER                                    £634m     £504m        26%

  * NO. OF HOMES SOLD                           5,714     5,172        10%

  * AVERAGE SELLING PRICE                     £106,400   £93,100       14%

  * OPERATING MARGIN                            15.1%     14.5%         4%

  * PROFIT BEFORE TAX                          £89.1m     £68.2m       31%

  * DIVIDEND PER ORDINARY SHARE                 12.4p     11.25p       10%

  * ORDINARY DIVIDEND COVER                     4.4x       3.7x        19%

  * HEADLINE EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE        55.4p     41.2p        34%

  * EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE                 55.4p     42.0p        32%

  * NET ASSET VALUE PER ORDINARY SHARE          289p       247p        17%


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT ALAN ROBSON, FINANCE DIRECTOR.

TUESDAY 17TH OCTOBER ING BARINGS 60, LONDON WALL, LONDON EC2M 5TQ - TEL: 020
7767 5430.

WEDNESDAY 18TH OCTOBER 0831 331 191.

THEREAFTER 0191 217 0717.



                             CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

I AM DELIGHTED TO BE ABLE TO REPORT ON ANOTHER OUTSTANDING YEAR. THIS
CONTINUES OUR CONSISTENT GROWTH IN EARNINGS PER SHARE WHICH HAS AVERAGED IN
EXCESS OF 23% PER ANNUM OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS.

Results

During the year, we sold 5,714 homes, 542 more than the previous financial
year and turnover rose by £130 million to £634 million from £504 million. For
the first time in our history, the average selling price for the year exceeded
£100,000 at £106,400, an increase of 14% over the previous year. Operating
margins rose to 15.1% from last year's 14.5% and the profit before tax
increased by 31% to £89.1 million compared to £68.2 million in the previous
year. The return on capital employed is 27.1% per annum, one of the highest in
the industry. Headline earnings per share rose to 55.4p from 41.2p, an
increase of over 34%.

Our strong balance sheet has been further enhanced by £46.5m of retained
profits resulting in shareholders' funds of £335.9m. Net book asset value per
share has risen to 289p from 247p. Net borrowings at 31 July were £17.5m
giving modest gearing of 5% which puts us in a very strong financial position
to exploit opportunities as they arise. There is already evidence of more
stability in the land market.

The directors are pleased to recommend a final dividend of 8.8p per ordinary
share compared with 7.95p in the previous year making a total dividend of
12.4p for the year which represents an increase of over 10%. This final
dividend will be payable on Monday 15 January 2001 to ordinary shareholders
who are on the Register of Members at the close of business on Friday 15
December 2000.

Strategy, Trading and Prospects

The strategic reorganisation I announced last year has gone well. I am
confident that the strong platform it created will improve our product mix and
increase our average selling price. During the year our southern region's
output grew substantially, benefiting from the buoyant market conditions and
produced a particularly notable trading performance. Our northern region,
where conditions were not so buoyant, also showed excellent growth.

Currently the number of homes reserved is similar to last year, but the sales
value is higher. Although it is too early to predict the likely outcome for
the current year, we remain confident of and plan for continuing growth. It is
fortunate that a tempering of the increase in selling prices has recently
occurred and as a result homes remain affordable. This should ensure ongoing
stability in the housing market and provide the conditions for us to continue
our excellent track record into the foreseeable future. The Group is enjoying
good trading conditions nationally and in the current year we are
concentrating on added value, customer care and improving margins.

We have intensified our well-established strategy of targeting brownfield
developments with projects in most of the country's major conurbations. The
wisdom of this policy was re-inforced by the Government publication 'Planning
Policy Guidance Note 3'. Good quality brownfield development can only be
achieved by using bespoke designs and layouts and we are proud of our
long-standing 'local, national housebuilder' policy of individual designs
matching customers needs. This approach allied to broad market and
geographical coverage provides a strong framework for continuing organic
growth. Our policy is, we believe, one of the most consistent and successful
in the industry.

Land and Employees

Our quality land bank with planning permission, one of the best in the
industry, now stands at 15,500 plots and this should allow us to increase
volumes in the current financial year. In addition, we control a greater
number of potential plots which we anticipate will receive planning consent in
due course. The Group's future is secured by our excellent land bank and more
importantly through the outstanding efforts and teamwork of all our employees.
I would like to thank them on behalf of the Board and the shareholders.

AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND YOUR BOARD REMAINS EXTREMELY CONFIDENT ABOUT THE
GROUP'S FUTURE PROSPECTS AND I SEE NO REASON WHY YOUR GROUP SHOULD NOT
CONTINUE TO PROSPER IN THIS DECADE AS IT HAS DONE IN THE LAST.



16 October 2000                                        Howard C Dawe





                           CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW

In my first review as Chief Executive, I am pleased that the Group has
achieved another excellent year of progress. The hard work undertaken in
previous years has established the foundation to deliver continuing growth in
the future. Our consistent growth record is highlighted by an increase in
earnings per share in the last 10 years from 6.6p to 55.4p, a performance that
is the envy of many of our competitors.

Trading Divisions

Our philosophy continues to be one of delegating as many decisions as possible
to divisional level. Bellway operates as autonomous locally managed businesses
with strong central control but no intermediary board structures. This
structure enables quick decision-making and sets us apart from the standard
industry profile.

Last year we announced a strategic review resulting in changes to divisional
boundaries preparing Bellway for the challenges of the future. The Yorkshire
division has completed its restructuring and our new Northern Home Counties
division in Milton Keynes is established with the first legal completions
being achieved. The Thames Gateway division has acquired new premises in Kent
and is well placed for further expansion along the Thames corridor where
affordability levels are some of the strongest in the south east. Thames
Gateway and Northern Home Counties have been established in areas that the
Government have specifically targeted for new growth. This restructuring takes
the number of operating divisions to 14 from 1st August 2000.

Our former grant aided urban regeneration divisions in East Midlands, Thames
Gateway, West Lancashire and Yorkshire achieved a selling price well below the
average for the Group. These divisions are pursuing mixed use inner city
projects using their brownfield experience gained over many years and will in
future enjoy higher selling prices. Essex, North London and Wessex divisions

all benefited from buoyant market conditions and I am pleased to report the
excellent progress made by our Wales division. The division based in the North
East of England continued its consistent trading performance.

We continue to invest heavily in divisional management so that we have the
infrastructure in place to create increased turnover from our smaller
divisions.

Land

Land is at the core of our business and we continue to be innovative in our
approach to land procurement. Recently, for example, we have established joint
ventures with local authorities in Ipswich, Sheffield and Southampton to
develop over 900 homes. The Lord Rogers Report focuses on urban renaissance
and we contribute through the acquisition of sites in city centres up and down
the country, in particular at Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Nottingham.

One of our key strengths must be our ability to read the market place. During
the year we maintained our long term land buying disciplines relating to
return on capital employed and margins and in an aggressive market this policy
resulted in a reduced level of land procurement. The quality of our consented
land bank of 15,500 plots still remains one of the best in the industry and is
sufficient for our current needs. This is a conservative figure due to our
inclusion of only land with planning permission and excludes 3,500 plots
currently owned at Barking. We are also processing through planning 2,700
plots, currently held under conditional contracts. In addition to the
foregoing we control a substantial number of plots in our long-term strategic
land bank.

Current market conditions are providing opportunities to procure land at
attractive prices and we fully intend to take advantage of these in the
current trading year.

'Bellway - the local, national Housebuilder'

Customers do not want uniform design and standard specifications. Inner city
schemes are forming an increasing percentage of our business. These schemes
are predominantly high density, mixed use with unique designs produced by
local architects matching local styles with local needs. The schemes are a
natural extension of our urban regeneration experiences.

The increasing complexity of brownfield development plays to the strengths we
have built up over many years. This changing profile not only results in an
increase in our average selling price, but also expands our product base.

Construction

There has been much discussion within our industry regarding off-site
manufacturing. Our 'local, national Housebuilder' philosophy has resulted in a
diverse product range which involves embracing all forms of imaginative
architectural and construction techniques. This is where I see the future. Our
policy is to form partnerships with suppliers to allow us to operate at the
forefront of technology without having to commit valuable capital resources to
non-core activities. Timber frame is a form of construction capable of time
savings on traditional two and three storey buildings though it is not always
capable of adapting to multi-storey or unique designs. Other construction
techniques therefore need to be applied in these situations.

The pressures on the labour market experienced in previous years have eased
and the cost of raw materials has remained relatively stable throughout the
year.



Training

Two years ago we encouraged our divisions to recruit more young people under
training schemes. In addition, we have a programme of on-site training
allowing our workforce to be assessed to NVQ level 2. We sincerely hope that a
significant percentage of our site workforce will progress beyond this level
and pursue a career with Bellway.

Better processes need the right people to implement them. Panel forms of
construction still need bricklayers and joiners on site and inner city
construction requires more skills not less.

Environment

One of the most important challenges every year is to minimise any adverse
environmental impact of the Group's building activities. Many of our
developments improve the environment through the reclamation of land which
would otherwise remain environmentally unattractive and potentially hazardous.
Our percentage of developments that are on brownfield land is already in
advance of the Government's stated target of 60% to be achieved by 2008.
Recently we have obtained planning permission for over 400 homes on the site
of two disused quarries in Birmingham and Northfleet where major reclamation
works will result in the conversion of over 20 acres of derelict land into
public open space. Furthermore we are testing an insulation system which uses
recycled newspaper which is claimed to be beneficial to allergy and asthma
sufferers. Following an audit of our sites by one of our manufacturers, we
discovered that 10% of waste was made up of plasterboard. We are now in
partnership with the manufacturer in returning this plasterboard to the
factory for recycling.

At Ipswich, following a commission from the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, we safely
relocated hundreds of lizards and slow worms prior to starting work on site.
New habitats were found for ground nesting birds, a new pond was created and
large tracts of land that were once part of an airport are now being
incorporated into an adjoining country park.

Our Customers

Our customers are a most valued asset. We recognise that growth comes not only
from selling more homes but also from satisfied customers who are an essential
part of Bellway's future.

Our after sales service is co-ordinated by dedicated customer relations staff
who report directly to their local Managing Director. Their work is being
supported by the introduction of bespoke software and by a 24 hour, 7 days a
week response line allowing us to react to our customers' needs.

For many years our customers have been able to upgrade specifications through
higher quality fixtures and fittings and have taken the opportunity to
customise their new homes. The Group is therefore expanding the optional
extras available including high specification flooring and state of the art
audio systems. Additionally, we continue to arrange for trained financial
advisers to be available to call at the customers home on a 7 day a week basis
to advise on mortgages and ancillary financial products. This year we have
supplemented this service with a new call centre manned 7 days a week with
access through the internet to major lenders. This allows us to offer clients
at the time of reservation 'in principle' mortgage arrangements. This
professional service is, we believe, an industry first and will continue to
improve client liaison as well as enhancing our income stream.



Information Technology

The Group is anxious to improve its efficiency through the appropriate use of
new technology. Our investment in this important field augments our systems
through the use of bespoke software in areas such as forecasting, group wide
intranet, land procurement, sales monitoring and cashflow modelling. B2C
e-commerce aids our customers through reservations on-line on selected sites,
call centre, customer care and a wide variety of other systems. We will
increasingly benefit from B2B systems as they evolve.

The Future

Looking ahead, we will continue to maximise shareholder return by shrewd well-
timed land investment, improving our product and optimising revenue
opportunities.



16 October, 2000                                             John K Watson



                         GROUP PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
                        For the year ended 31 July 2000
                                                   Notes  2000  1999
                                                          £000  £000

Turnover                                                 634,301 504,406
Cost of sales                                            509,332 405,521
                                                         _______ _______
Gross profit                                             124,969 98,885
Administrative expenses                                  29,360  25,633
                                                         _______ _______
Group operating profit                                   95,609 73,252
Share of operating (loss) / profit in associated             (2)   440
undertakings
                                                         _______ _______
Total operating profit : Group and share of              95,607 73,692
associates
Exceptional profit - sale of fixed asset                      -    900
                                                         _______ _______
Profit before interest                                   95,607 74,592
Net interest payable (including associated                6,462  6,415
undertakings)
                                                         _______ _______
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation            89,145 68,177
Taxation                                                 27,182 21,033
                                                         _______ _______
Profit after taxation                                    61,963 47,144
Minority interest                                           (9)     79
                                                         _______ _______
Profit attributable to shareholders                      61,954 47,223
Dividends on equity and non-equity shares            1   15,446 14,163
                                                         _______ _______
Retained profit for year                                 46,508 33,060
                                                         ====== ======

Earnings per ordinary share - basic                  2    55.4p  42.0p
Earnings per ordinary share - diluted                2    55.3p  41.8p
Earnings per ordinary share - headline basic         2    55.4p  41.2p


The Group's results for both the current and preceding financial years
derive from continuing operations.

There were no significant recognised gains or losses in the current or
preceding year other than the profit attributable to shareholders.


                             GROUP BALANCE SHEET
                               at 31 July 2000
                                                               2000       1999
                                                               £000       £000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets                                              14,768     13,221
Investments                                                   2,249      2,072
                                                            _______    _______
                                                             17,017     15,293
                                                            _______    _______
Current assets
Stocks                                                      508,514    490,164
Debtors                                                      14,206     19,961
Cash at bank and in hand                                     37,525      9,656
                                                            _______    _______
                                                            560,245    519,781
Current liabilities
Creditors due within one year                               167,751    165,085
                                                            _______    _______
Net current assets                                          392,494    354,696
                                                            _______    _______
Total assets less current liabilities                       409,511    369,989
Creditors due after more than one year                       73,640     81,057
                                                            _______    _______
Net assets                                                  335,871    288,932
                                                            =======    =======
Capital and reserves
Equity share capital
Ordinary shares                                              13,652     13,622
Non-equity share capital
Preference shares                                            20,000     20,000
                                                            _______    _______
Called up share capital                                      33,652     33,622
Equity reserves
Share premium account                                        95,214     94,695
Other reserves                                                1,518      1,511
Profit and loss account                                     205,546    159,172
                                                            _______    _______
Shareholders' funds - equity and non-equity                 335,930    289,000
Equity minority interest                                       (59)       (68)
                                                            _______    _______
                                                            335,871    288,932
                                                            =======    =======

Approved by the Board of Directors on 16 October 2000

and signed on its behalf by



Howard C Dawe                    Alan G Robson



                          GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT
                       for the year ended 31 July 2000
                                                    2000            1999
                                                  £000    £000    £000    £000
Cash inflow from operating activities                   75,613          15,767
Net cash outflow from returns on investments
and servicing of finance
Interest paid                                  (7,189)         (6,261)
Interest received                                  772             281
Dividends paid - non-equity                    (1,900)         (1,900)
                                               _______         _______
                                                       (8,317)         (7,880)
Taxation                                              (22,688)        (23,790)
Net cash outflow from capital expenditure
and financial investment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets              (5,808)         (4,852)
Sale of tangible fixed assets - exceptional          -           1,310
item
- other                                          1,118             750
                                               _______         _______
                                                       (4,690)         (2,792)
Equity dividends paid                                 (12,587)        (11,403)
                                                       _______         _______
Net cash inflow / (outflow) before financing           27,331         (30,098)
Net cash inflow from financing
Issue of ordinary share capital on exercise
of share options                                   549           1,266
Increase in bank loans                               -          19,000
                                               _______         _______
                                                           549          20,266
                                                       _______         _______
Increase / (Decrease) in cash in year                   27,880         (9,832)
                                                         =====           =====



                                    NOTES
1 DIVIDENDS ON EQUITY AND NON-EQUITY SHARES
                                                               2000        1999
                                                               £000        £000
Ordinary share capital - equity
Interim paid on 1 July 2000 - 3.6p per share (1999 - 3.3p)    3,932       3,598
Final proposed - 8.8p per share (1999 - 7.95p)                9,614       8,665
                                                           ________    ________
                                                             13,546      12,263
9.5% preference share capital - non-equity                    1,900       1,900
                                                           ________    ________
                                                             15,446      14,163
                                                             ======      ======
The directors recommend payment of the final dividend on 15 January 2001 to
shareholders on the register at the close of business on 15 December 2000.

2 EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE

The calculation of basic earnings per ordinary share is based on earnings of £
60,054,000 (1999 - £45,323,000) after taxation, minority interest and
preference dividend and the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue
during the year of 108,328,741 (1999 - 107,918,069).

The calculation of diluted earnings per ordinary share uses the same earnings
figure as the basic calculation but the weighted average number of shares has
been adjusted to 108,559,653 (1999 - 108,390,769) to reflect the dilutive
effect of outstanding share options.

The calculation of the headline basic earnings per ordinary share uses the same
weighted average number of ordinary shares as the basic calculation, however
the earnings are adjusted to exclude exceptional items and the related tax
effect. This has no effect on the current year but earnings reduce by £900,000
to £44,423,000 for 1999.

3 RECONCILIATION OF NET BORROWINGS
                                      At 1 August Cash flows    Exchange  At 31
                                                                           July
                                             1999            Differences   2000
                                             £000       £000        £000   £000
Cash at bank and in hand                    9,656     27,880        (11) 37,525
Bank loans falling due after             (55,000)          -         - (55,000)
more than one year
                                          _______    _______    _______ _______
                                         (45,344)     27,880      (11) (17,475)
                                           ======     ======     ====== ======
The net borrowings at 31 July 2000 of £17,475,000 represents gearing of 5.2%.

4            The financial information set out above does not constitute the
             company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 July 1999 or
             2000 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for
             1999 have been delivered to the registrar of companies and those
             for 2000 will be delivered following the company's annual general
             meeting. The auditors have reported on those accounts; their
             reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under
             section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985.