Barratt’s shares climbed 10%, after it signed a new £400m debt facility and confirmed 1,200 job cuts.
In a trading update issued today, Barratt said it had agreed a revised covenant package and signed a new £400m debt facility, to protect it from an increasingly unstable market.
As revealed in Property Week last week, the housebuilder also confirmed it would close two divisions and merge another eight, with the loss of 1,200 jobs, as part of a £40m annual savings initiative.
Mark Clare, group chief executive, said: 'In terms of housing volumes, margins and debt, we have delivered a satisfactory performance in an intensely difficult market.
‘By enhancing our sales capability, reducing our costs, and agreeing a new financial package, we have now substantially improved our competitive position and are better placed to deal with what will be a very challenging period ahead.'
Barratt will continue to progress with the sale of assets from subsidiary Wilson Bowden, which it hopes will raise £200m.
