Barratt Developments reported ‘good momentum’ on sales, despite recent interest rate rises. The Times. Daily Telegraph. The Guardian

The housebuilder, which bought rival Wilson Bowden for £2.2bn in February, said that forward-sales for the group were 15% ahead of last year at £1.4bn.

Barratt expected ‘robust’ pretax profits for the year to 30 June, in line with expectations.

Nevertheless, Mark Clare, chief executive of Barratt, warned that the market would ‘tighten’ and that the traditional property market ‘browser’ has all but disappeared.