Homes England chair’s tenure extended
Pat Ritchie, chair of Homes England, has had her tenure extended by six months to ensure “continuity of experienced leadership for the Homes England board”, according to the organisation. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has granted the extension to the end of April 2027. Ritchie, former ceo of Homes England’s predecessor the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), was announced interim chair in April 2025. She was selected to lead the government’s housing and regeneration agency for “up to” 18 months.
Bellway’s completions up 10.8%
Bellway’s completions rose 10.8% during its financial year against 2025, above its previously guided range. At the same time, the housebuilder is calling upon the government to “act now” to aid the housing market including through a change to stamp duty, with the near-term outlook remaining “uncertain”. Giving a trading update for the year ending July 31 2026, Bellway said its housing completions during the period totalled 9,695 homes compared to last year’s 8,749, “in excess of” the previously guided range of 9,300 to 9,500 and driven by “a strong conversion from our bulk sales pipeline”.
Persimmon’s completions and profit up
Persimmon’s completions and underlying operating profit grew in its half year, while in recent weeks, open market sales have “softened”. Announcing its results for the six months to June 30 2026 today (August 6), the volume housebuilder said it had increased its market share with new completions up 13% against H1 2025 to 5,189, at an average sales price of £285,752, slightly up on last year’s £284,047.
HBF Technical Conference – early booking ends on August 14
Early booking rates are available until August 14 for the HBF Technical Conference, the key event for technical professionals within the housebuilding industry, taking place next month. With the Future Homes Standard now published and new standards and environmental demands impacting the industry, the HBF Technical Conference, taking place on September 10 2026 at Austin Court, Birmingham, will examine the details of what are significant changes to the technical demands on housebuilders.
Help to Buy nets taxpayers £1.75 billion - HBF
New HBF analysis of the Help to Buy equity loan book has highlighted a positive financial performance by the home ownership scheme that closed in March 2023. The report, Payback for Good, follows previous HBF analysis of the Help to Buy scheme and shows that at the end of March 2026 213,713 of the 387,278 equity loans issued between 2013 and 2023 had been fully paid back (55%).
HBF Planning Conference – early booking rate ends soon
The HBF Planning Conference - the key event for planners – takes place next month with early booking rate tickets available until August 14th. This year has seen the government publish the detail of the draft reformed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and, following the recent consultation period, the final document expected imminently.
Mayors to keep share of income tax under devolution
Mayors will be able to keep a share of income tax and business rates revenues, allowing them and their communities to shape decisions on housing, transport and skills training, as part of prime minister Andy Burnham’s devolution plans. Announcing “the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation”, the government said that under the change, places would “keep more of the rewards” of growing their economies to invest in local needs.
TW braces market challenges in first half
Taylor Wimpey delivered a “solid first half performance in a challenging market”, it said today (July 31), with completions slightly above guidance but profit down. The housebuilder has also reduced annual shareholder returns “to reflect the prolonged market downturn” and anticipates full year completions in the “lower half” of its guidance range. During the half year to June 28 2026, the housebuilder’s UK home completions – excluding joint ventures – totalled 4,723. This was down on H1 2025’s 4,894 but higher than the H1 weighting guidance previously given, TW said.
