Taylor Wimpey pledges £125m for cladding and fire safety retrofits

Aaron Morby 4 years ago
Share

House builder Taylor Wimpey has set aside £125m to fund fire safety and cladding improvements to buildings.

Redfern said Taylor Wimpey had taken the decision to shoulder the cost for customer and leaseholders of ensuring buildings are safe.
Redfern said Taylor Wimpey had taken the decision to shoulder the cost for customer and leaseholders of ensuring buildings are safe.

The cash will support building owners and leaseholders and applies to Taylor Wimpey apartment buildings constructed over the last 20 years, including apartment buildings below 18m.

The latest cash is on top of the £40m provided after Grenfell to fund cladding removal. So far 12 out of 19 blocks have been reclad.

Pete Redfern, chief executive, said that Taylor Wimpey had now identified 232 apartment buildings that may require fire safety works under External Wall Fire Safety (EWS1) requirements.

He said: “This is a complex and exceptional situation, but Taylor Wimpey is focused on doing the right thing for its customers.

“The Board has determined that we will fund and oversee the improvement works of apartment buildings in our ownership, regardless of eligibility for the UK Government Building Safety Fund, to make them safe and mortgageable by achieving external fire wall standards EWS1 certification.

“If Taylor Wimpey no longer owns the building and it is not eligible for the Building Safety Fund, or similar support that may be announced in the future, where a freeholder produces a fair and proportionate plan for fire safety improvement works following EWS1 assessment, we will contribute funding to bring those buildings up to the standards.

“Whilst the legal responsibility continues to rest with the building owner, we will also provide advice and other assistance where appropriate.”

Taylor Wimpey unveiled the retrofit plan as it announced results for a very challenging 2020.

Pre-tax profit slumped by just over two-thirds to £264m from revenue down 36% to £2.79bn.

Total UK home completions including joint ventures fell 39% to 9,609 in 2020, due primarily to the impact on production capacity during the second quarter shutdown.

Average selling prices on private completions increased by 5.9% to £323k (2019: £305k), with the overall average selling price increasing to £288k (2019: £269k), driven mostly by change in mix.

Redfern said: “Operating performance has bounced back strongly in the second half of 2020, with build capacity returning to near normal levels and strong sales.”

He said Taylor Wimpey now enjoyed a record forward order book of 10,685 homes and was focused on delivering cost-saving and simplification with annual savings of £16m from 2021

Redfern said: “We are confident in the medium term performance of the housing market and therefore accelerated our land purchases from May 2020 as high-quality land became available at attractive rates.

“We are now focusing on driving efficiencies across the business, the roll out of our new house type range and implementing our ambitious new environmental strategy.”

Latest news

Thames Water finance chief joins BAM UK & Ireland

Abigail Farrell-Black joins contractor as new finance head after senior roles at Thames and Southern Water
8 hours ago

GRAHAM gets go-ahead for £110m Boddingtons Brewery revamp

Work to start this summer after Gateway 2 approval secured
8 hours ago

FM Conway profit jumps to £33m under Vinci

Turnover hits £608m and cash surges £68m just two months into new ownership
11 hours ago

McAlpine breaks ground at £1.25bn Port Talbot green steel job

Port Talbot switch to scrap-powered production by 2027
11 hours ago

Cappagh lands £136m Portsmouth Water deals

Utility specialist wins AMP8 contracts for infrastructure and smart meters
11 hours ago

Rethink over “anti-dumping” tariffs on Chinese diggers

Fair trade body reconsiders ruling after lobbying by manufacturers
11 hours ago

Sparks agree near 4% wage increase from 2026

Top hourly rate in London to rise to £26.70 under JIB deal
10 hours ago

Morgan Sindall to build new Cambridgeshire school

Latest win for contractor at Alconbury Weald development
10 hours ago

BSR backlog swells as new build approvals run to 36 weeks

First official Government figures expose full extent of Gateway project logjam
3 days ago

Repair slowdown drags down construction output

New work activity rises in May despite overall 0.6% output fall
3 days ago

Equans suffers £29m loss as new build exit drags on

Refocused retrofit contractor still dogged by legacy losses despite profitable core work
3 days ago

Scaffolding trade body NASC facing discrimination claim

Former training manager to take trade body to Employment Tribunal
3 days ago

ACS lands lead role on Stafford transformers lab

Contractor to start main £20m expansion in live site environment
3 days ago

GRAHAM sees profits rise despite dip in turnover

Record order book as contractor confident about future prospects
3 days ago

Nixon Hire sells 200-strong welfare van fleet to Sunbelt

Sunbelt more than doubles mobile site welfare capability
4 days ago

Henry family and directors face claims topping £31m

Administrators chasing dividend payout, unpaid loans and family benefits
4 days ago

Vistry eyes second-half affordable homes work surge

Government rent reforms and funding pledges power-up work pipeline
4 days ago

JV picked to progress Severn-Thames water transfer plan

AtkinsRéalis and Stantec to map pipeline or canal link
4 days ago

Police catch on the run construction boss

Director missing for months after failing to appear in court after site death
4 days ago

Green light for £800m Poplar estate revamp

Construction to start next year at Teviot Estate
5 days ago

Civil engineering trade body boss leaves to join Mace

CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner joins consulting arm
5 days ago

House builders offer £100m to drop competition probe

CMA set to strike deal with cash going to affordable housing programmes
5 days ago

Transport Secretary axes £1.4bn road jobs in south east

Alexander pulls plug on A12 and A47 upgrades in budget crackdown
5 days ago

Fusion taps HG for first Birmingham student job

622-bed Bristol Road scheme kicks off contractor’s Midlands push
5 days ago

VolkerWessels UK parent group to sell core Dutch business

UK, German and North American operations remain with Dutch owner Reggeborgh
5 days ago

Union claims sex pests are rife in construction

Shock assault figures following Unite survey of 100 workers
5 days ago

Green light for two more City of London towers

Combined 77 more storeys of office schemes approved
6 days ago

John F Hunt starts enabling works on £200m Strand Premier Inn

Main contractor due to be appointed this summer
6 days ago

£200m deal unlocks full 1,000-home Digbeth scheme

Caddick has started early works on the Moda-led Stone Yard project
6 days ago

10 big road and rail upgrades get funding green light

£1.3bn A66 dualling, Simister Island junction upgrade and Midlands Rail Hub get funding
6 days ago