More housebuilders face bumper costs over cladding remediation pledges

Bellway, Countryside and Vistry have become the latest UK housing firms to book hefty costs and sign up to the UK Government’s fire-safety pledge in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

All firms said they are setting aside multi-million pound provisions for safety improvements related to the pledge, which commits developers to new guidelines for work on potentially unsafe cladding on buildings between 36ft (11m) and 59ft (18m) high.

It comes after a raft of rival housebuilders, including Barratt, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Crest Nicholson, agreed to the commitment earlier this week.

Bellway predicted that works related to the pledge will cost it about £300 million, in addition to £186.8 million already set aside since 2017.

The company said it has so far spent almost £60 million of its original provision after already completing works on four developments, while work is currently underway at 13 more sites.

Jason Honeyman, chief executive of Bellway, said: “We have always taken the issue of building safety very seriously and agree with the Government’s principle that residents should not have to fund life-critical, fire safety, remedial works.

“Our engagement to date, and commitment to continue our responsible approach, has resulted in Bellway today making a pledge that schemes constructed by us or on our behalf in the last 30 years will be remediated.

“This is a positive outcome for affected residents, made in the best long-term interests of the group and will help to secure our ongoing reputation as a leading responsible homebuilder.”

Meanwhile, Vistry said it expects further remediation works on properties to cost between £35 million and £50 million, on top of £25.2 million already set aside.

Vistry added that group administrative expenses will increase from £1.5 million for £3 million as a result.

Fellow housing firm Countryside has said it expects its remediation works to cost about £24 million.

The firm had already set aside £41 million in 2021 for remedial works on multi-occupancy buildings.

Shares in the company dipped after it also confirmed it will conduct a review of its operations.

John Martin, chair and interim chief executive officer of Countryside, said: “After conducting a review of all operational sites, management has identified a number of areas where we can raise our game and our team is moving quickly to improve performance.

“There remains significant market demand for our homes and we did not identify any competitive issues during our review.

“Large parts of the group continue to perform strongly, building high-quality, affordable homes and developing places people love as a trusted partner of local authorities, registered providers and PRS investors.”