The firm said the rise kept it on course to lift overall new homes output to 16,750 units by its year-end in June.

David Thomas, chief executive, said: “We have seen an excellent first half performance, increasing our completions by 9% whilst maintaining our industry leading quality.  

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“We continue to invest for the future, approving the purchase of £559m of land and investing in training and recruitment programmes to help address the need for additional skilled labour.

He added: “Overall, market conditions are good and we remain confident in our outlook for the full year as we continue to execute our strategies: aimed at ensuring disciplined growth, improving key financial metrics through a focus on efficiency and the continued delivery of attractive cash returns.”

Private average selling prices were up by 11.0% to circa £281,000 benefiting from both mix and underlying selling price inflation.   

Barratt operated from an average of 386 active sites during the first half in line with last year but saw a dip in new site openings, launching 63 new developments in the first half compared to 96 last year.  

He said that Barratt continued to benefit from a good level of consumer demand across all regions, with mortgage availability and affordability remaining attractive as competition amongst lenders continues.

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