MARKET REPORT: Barratt sees reforms to tackle housing shortage

Government plans to tackle a “chronic” housing shortage have been welcomed by Barratt Developments, even as it cut the number of properties it built by 3,000.

The FTSE 100 builder, which is waiting for the competition watchdog to clear its takeover of Redrow, said planning reform would help to “unlock economic growth and address the chronic shortage of new homes”.

The comments came as it said it built just over 14,000 homes in the 12 months to the end of June, almost 20 percent fewer than the 17,206 completed the previous year.

And annual profits fell by three-quarters to £170.5m.

Barratt also warned that demand remains subdued due to affordability constraints and expects to build up to 13,500 homes next year due to a lack of land.

RBC analyst Anthony Codling said: “This shows the importance of reform, the UK market is improving but builders need more land.” Barratt fell 3.1%, or 16p, to 504p.

London’s stock market posted a fourth session of losses for the FTSE 100, which fell 0.4%, or 28.86 points, to 8,269.60, while the FTSE 250 was virtually stable, up 0.05 points, at 20,808.61.

One of last year’s top-grossing floats is hoping for a recovery after a difficult first half of the year.

CAB Payments, which was worth more than £850m in July 2023, saw revenues fall 22% to £55.7m in the six months to the end of June.

The group, which processes cross-border payments in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, is expecting a better second half after recently signing a deal with Visa. Shares fell 11.3%, or 12.3 pence, to 99.7 pence.

Airtel Africa also fell, down 5.2% or 6p to 110p, after analysts at JP Morgan downgraded its stock to neutral from overweight due to a weaker earnings outlook for the telecoms firm’s Nigerian business.

Lower volatility in energy markets and commodity prices will continue to be a drag on Centrica’s earnings, HSBC said as it cut its rating on the British Gas owner to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and warned it was unlikely to launch additional share buybacks beyond next February. Centrica fell 2%, or 2.5p, to 123.45p.

A drug manufactured by Indivior failed to meet targets in a clinical trial investigating cannabis use disorder.

He worked with French biotech company Aelis Farma to see if his treatment could help patients reduce their cannabis use after three months.

But Indivior, which moved its main listing from London to New York in June, decided not to license global rights given the disappointing results, and fell 0.6%, or 5p, to 9,608p.

Wizz Air will offer seven-hour direct flights from Milan to Abu Dhabi on its new Airbus aircraft from June, and said its fares will be significantly lower than those of its competitors, but they still fell 3.4%, or 42p, to 1209p.

Advisory firm FRP, which is listed at 150p, has bought its 11th company since going public in 2020, acquiring Williams Ali, a corporate financial services provider. Its founders will join FRP as partners.