Taylor Wimpey predicted it would end the year having agreed a deal with lenders that would forestall any January breach in covenants attached to the house builder’s £1.9bn debt.

The company’s shares have shed more than 90% of their value over the year as it grappled with a collapse in demand for new housing.

Without a deferral agreement, the housebuilder said it was likely to breach interest covenants.

Discussions over a deferral agreement on covenants were “close to completion”, the company said yesterday, and were expected to conclude by the end of the year.

The housebuilder declined to comment further on the likely terms of the deferment, although some increase in interest rates charged on its debt is likely, as well as an upfront charge.

Financial Times, The Times