Berkeley Group reports £529m profit, £382m shareholder returns for FY25

Berkeley Group Holdings plc (LON:BKG) has announced its audited results for the year ended 30 April 2025. 

Rob Perrins, Chief Executive, said:

“Berkeley has delivered £528.9 million of pre-tax profit for the year, with net cash at £337.3 million, in spite of ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility.  With over 75% of sales secured for the coming year, we are well-placed to achieve our FY26 pre-tax profit guidance of £450 million. 

This represents an excellent operational performance with highly disciplined execution and close control of costs. We have added long-term value to the business, both in our land holdings and through our Build to Rent (BTR) platform, while returning £381.5 million to shareholders; a great start to the Berkeley 2035 strategy.

There is good underlying demand for our homes, with transaction volumes gradually improving over the course of the year. However, consumer confidence remains finely balanced and a more meaningful recovery requires both improved sentiment and macroeconomic stability.

Berkeley is fully committed to the Government’s housing-led growth agenda, and we are submitting planning applications on all our sites to accelerate delivery.  We continue to work with all levels of Government to ensure planning consents are appropriately viable following a number of years of extreme cost inflation and regulatory change and can move into production. 

We welcome the Government’s efforts to unblock housing supply and advocate focused action to accelerate the completion of Section 106 agreements and clearance of pre-commencement conditions; improve and speed-up the Building Safety Regulator’s new Gateway approval system; increase funding for the Affordable Housing sector; and ensure Planning Authorities have the resources and pro-active mind-set to facilitate housing delivery.

We were therefore delighted to see the increase in Affordable Housing funding and the 10-year social housing rent settlement announced in last week’s Spending Review, which represent positive progress towards achieving their housing ambitions.

Regenerating brownfield land remains central to Government policy with an estimated 88,000 homes required to deliver the national annual housing target to come from London.  With our focus on London, Birmingham and the South-East, Berkeley is the only large UK homebuilder with a business model that prioritises brownfield development and is unique in having the expertise and resources to unlock complex urban sites and their significant economic and social value. 

92% of the 4,300 homes delivered in the year are on regenerated brownfield land and we have provided some £580 million in subsidies to deliver affordable housing and commitments to wider community and infrastructure benefits.

To capitalise fully on the opportunity presented by large-scale brownfield regeneration, we advocate the use of bespoke Section 106 agreements instead of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which would reflect the significant on-site infrastructure and amenities they provide and allow for an increase in delivery of much needed affordable housing.

We are delighted to have added a large site in Slough town centre to our portfolio in the year and also to have been selected as development partner by Birmingham City Council for the regeneration of the 148-acre Ladywood Estate, with the potential to deliver over 7,500 new and refurbished homes. Both are hugely exciting opportunities to drive growth in our towns and cities in partnership with energised and forward-thinking public sector partners.

Under our new Berkeley 2035 strategy announced in December, which is fully aligned to the Government’s increased housing delivery ambitions, Berkeley can allocate £5 billion of capital to new investment over the 10-year period, including delivering 4,000 homes for rent through our own Build to Rent (BTR) platform. 

We have adapted our business to current market conditions over the last 18 months, which results in the pre-tax profit guidance for FY26 of £450 million, with FY27 likely to be similar, based on current sales rates.  Our long-term target is to make a pre-tax return on equity above 15% over the cycle but will be below this in the medium-term while the current operating environment volatility persists, and we invest in our BTR platform to increase future delivery and maximise long-term value for shareholders.

Berkeley’s performance is a result of the skill, passion and commitment of our people. They continue to deliver hugely positive outcomes for communities, the economy and environment through ambitious brownfield regeneration and I thank them for this on behalf of the Board and shareholders.”

Summary ofFinancial Position, Earnings and Shareholder Returns

·     The value of private sales reservations has improved gradually over the year, ending around 5% ahead of FY24, but below our long-term aspiration.

·      Operating efficiency maintained with operating costs 3% lower than last year despite an inflationary environment. 

·     Net cash is £337 million, after shareholder returns of £382 million, land creditor payments of £210 million and £80 million of BTR construction cost. £1.2 billion of borrowing capacity provides total liquidity of £1.5 billion.

·      Net asset value per share has increased by 7% to £35.95 and reflects historic cost.

·      Unrivalled land holdings with £6.7 billion of future gross margin – with strong planning momentum during the year.

CAPITAL ALLOCATION AND BERKELEY 2035

·      £381.5 million of shareholder returns in the year, with £121 million due by 30 September 2025 to complete the 2011 Shareholder returns programme.

·      New 10-year strategy, Berkeley 2035, announced to provide resilience and flexibility for Berkeley to allocate capital between land investment, growing its BTR platform and shareholder returns, as the operating environment evolves.

·      Next shareholder return target is £640 million to be returned by 30 September 2030.

·      3 new sites acquired in the year and 5 new planning consents obtained.

·      First 4 BTR buildings transferred to the platform and well-advanced in establishing team, brand and operations.

DELIVERING FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS

·      4,047 homes delivered, plus 282 in joint ventures (2024: 3,521, plus 406) – 92% of which are on brownfield land.

·     Approximately £580 million of subsidies provided to deliver affordable housing and committed to wider community and infrastructure benefits in the year.

·   Berkeley is delivering over 10% of London’s new private and affordable homes – supporting an average of approximately 27,000 UK jobs per annum directly and indirectly through its supply chain over the last five years.

·      Industry leading Net Promoter Score (+81.6) and ranked the top UK housebuilder for build quality by HomeViews.

·      Industry-leading approach to biodiversity net gain, helping to connect people and nature. 57 developments now committed, which will create more than 1,200 acres of new or measurably improved natural habitats.

·      Reducing embodied carbon within the materials used to construct our buildings, through targeted actions through design, specification and procurement. More than 60 embodied carbon assessments completed to date.

·   Rated ‘AAA’ within the MSCI ESG ratings, a top 10% company within S&P’s Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), an ESG Industry Top-Rated company by Sustainalytics, and given ‘prime’ status by ISS Corporate Solutions ESG Corporate Rating.

·     Maintained our commitment to skills, training and social mobility, with 9% of direct employees in ‘earn and learn’ positions as graduates, apprentices or sponsored students in the year, retaining Gold membership of the 5% Club. 

·      Named Britain’s Most Admired Company for 2024 in the longest-running annual survey of corporate reputation amongst FTSE100 and 250 companies, sponsored by the London Stock Exchange.

Investor and Analyst Presentation:

A pre-recorded presentation by the Directors of Berkeley Group on the results will be made available on the Company’s website at 11:00 today – https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/investors/results-and-announcements.