Strong start for Taylor Wimpey

UK house builder Taylor Wimpey has reported a strong start to 2013 and said it was encouraged by recent improvement in conditions in its domestic market.

In a trading update, the contractor reported overall stable UK housing market conditions, with positive trends in London and the South East of England. The order book stood at £1.2 billion (€1.4 billion) at the end of the first quarter – up 27% from the end of last year and up 18% compared to the same point in 2012.

Chief executive Pete Redfern said confidence had been boosted by the UK government’s recent budget announcements, which include provisions to build new homes.

“This, together with the quality of our locations and the inherent value in our land bank, is enabling us to drive improvement across all of our key performance measures,” Mr Redfern added.

Nevertheless, the company warned that the uncertainty which has characterised the last few years still remains.

“As such we retain a cautious approach, even given the more optimistic outlook. With our strategy in place, we expect to deliver significantly improved and more sustainable returns across the housing cycle,” Taylor Wimpey said.