Bellway PLC – a major player in Gloucestershire's homebuilding programme – has posted annual pre-tax profit of just under £290m in results issued today for the year ended July 31, 2025.

The latest figures land as the firm celebrates finishing touches on 465 homes at Pirton Fields in the village of Churchdown (under both its Bellway and Ashberry Homes brands) while work is also progressing on a further 492 homes across three developments in Hunts Grove, Hempsted and Lydney, in the Forest of Dean.

The household name in new homes revealed latest profits at £289.1m, landing in excess of a forecasted £282.04m, with the gain being attributed to strong spring-season demand. 

The company consequently raised its ordinary dividend by nearly 30% to 70p per share and announced a £150m share buyback.

But with a wary eye on the Autumn Statement, Bellway chief executive Jason Honeyman said the figures portrayed a slower start to the financial year due to potential stamp duty changes that may lie in wait while affordability pressures and increased borrowing costs remain.

In all, Bellway is currently on track to complete 9,200 homes across the UK, supported by a solid order book and multiple active sales outlets, he indicated.

Mr Honeyman said: "Bellway has delivered a good performance in FY25 with double-digit growth in volume output and profits," adding that a sharper focus on balance sheet efficiency was reflected by the £ share buyback.

He said: "While we face some near-term market challenges, we have a high-quality land bank, strong balance sheet and the operational capacity to capitalise on the positive long-term fundamentals of our industry."

Bellway remained well-positioned to continue delivering much needed high-quality new homes in the years ahead, he said.

But he warned: "Supportive government policy is essential for the industry to drive a meaningful and sustained increase in housing output. The Government must demonstrate its commitment to accelerating housebuilding by driving through planning reform and addressing the affordability constraints facing first-time buyers across the country."

Looking at long-term growth, the financial report on the figures said: "In the years ahead, our industry should benefit from the Government's planning reforms, although we continue to experience delays to planning decisions as local authorities are taking time to adopt new local plans and implement the updated National Planning Policy Framework.

"Furthermore, the availability of mortgage products and affordability remains relatively constrained for customers requiring higher loan-to-value mortgages. To complement the supply-side measures and to meet its ambitious housing targets, the Government also needs to address the demand-side pressures, and particularly those facing first-time buyers."

Despite current industry headwinds though, the report said Bellway had "excellent visibility" on planned outlet openings for the current financial year, and was confident that with a stable housing market, it would be in a strong position to build on its proven track record of organic volume growth in FY26 and beyond.