The house builder completed 9,695 homes in the year to 31 July, ahead of its previous guidance of 9,300 to 9,500 homes.

Despite being one of the few volume builders to surpass completions targets chief executive Jason Honeyman urged ministers to stimulate demand as the market continues to weaken.

He called for an immediate cut in Stamp Duty alongside a Government-backed deposit support scheme for first-time buyers and greater backing for affordable housing delivery.

In a year end trading update, Honeyman reported housing revenue ahead 13% to £3.14bn, but he said underlying operating margin remained under pressure easing to around 10% from 10.9% as a higher proportion of lower-margin bulk sales weighed on profitability.

Bellway generated more than £850m of adjusted operating cashflow, well ahead of previous guidance, helping swing the balance sheet to year-end net cash of £158m compared with £42m a year earlier.

The stronger cash position has enabled the group to complete its £150m share buyback this month before launching a further £50m programme as the first tranche of planned FY27 shareholder returns.

Bellway warned demand weakened after April as higher mortgage rates hit affordability, with the private reservation rate slipping to 0.55 per outlet per week from 0.57. Excluding bulk sales, the rate fell to 0.49 from 0.52.

The forward order book also reduced, ending the year at 4,206 homes worth £1.2bn, down from 5,307 homes valued at £1.5bn last year.

Despite the softer market, Bellway maintained disciplined investment in future growth, agreeing deals to acquire 8,578 plots across 35 sites for £505m. This included a 1,900-home strategic site at Dunfermline that will underpin expansion of its two Scottish divisions.