Berkeley Group sales boosted by Help to Buy

2nd Sep 2013 07:13

Berkeley Group said forward sales of homes had increased and now stand at more than 1.5bn pounds. The house builder said UK domestic sales were boosted by improving consumer confidence and the Government's Help to Buy scheme.The company said trading in the four months to August 31st met its own expectations. Berkeley is the latest UK house builder to report increased business supported by Help to Buy, which lends money to people towards a deposit on a property. Persimmon and Bovis Homes have both said the scheme has increased confidence in the market.Berkeley Chairman Tony Pidgley will tell the company's annual shareholder meeting: "Trading for the period is in line with the board's expectations, maintaining confidence that Berkeley is well placed to achieve its profit targets, which are in line with market expectations, and to meet the first milestone to return £568m in cash to shareholders by no later than September 30th 2015."The company said it added three sites to its land bank in the four-month period - two in London and one in West Sussex. It agreed to add two more London sites, in Southall and Hornsey.