Bellway (BWY) Trading Update summary

Trading performance and market conditions

• Spring selling season saw robust trading, with increased customer confidence and improved affordability supporting higher private reservation rates compared to the first half of the year.

• Private reservation rate per outlet per week, including bulk sales, rose 8.1% to 0.67, while excluding bulk sales it remained steady at 0.61.

• Overall reservation rate, including social homes, increased by 2.1% to 196 per week, with a low cancellation rate of 11%.

• Headline pricing and targeted incentives remained stable, and build cost inflation was in the low single digits.

Order book, land investment, and financial position

• Forward order book grew 7.7% to 5,759 homes valued at £1,650m as of 1 June 2025.

• Contracted to purchase 6,759 plots since 1 August 2024 across 42 sites, with a total contract value of £495m.

• Strategic land bank further strengthened with 17 new option agreements.

• Maintains a well-capitalised balance sheet with modest net debt of £73m and expects low adjusted gearing at year-end.

Outlook and guidance

• Volume output for FY25 expected between 8,600 and 8,700 homes, up from 7,654 in FY24.

• Underlying operating margin anticipated to approach 11.0%, up from 10.0% in FY24.

• Average selling price now expected to be around £315,000, reflecting a higher product mix.

• Fully sold for the current financial year and positioned for 20% cumulative volume growth by July 2026, assuming stable market conditions.

• Focus remains on increasing return on capital employed, capital efficiency, and cash generation, with a capital allocation update due later in the year.