Barratt set for profits boost

Housebuilder Barratt Developments is expected to release a trading statement on Wednesday showing that profits are likely to double.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank said the Newcastle-headquartered firm would "show marginal progression in both completions and average selling price in the first half of the year, but with the contribution of new land driving more than a doubling of net profit".

Margins in the sector have risen because the land builders bought after the crash was cheap and they are only now selling the houses on that land.

Barratt’s shares have tripled to 227p since lows in the second half of 2011 as profits have risen and fears over the eurozone have receded.

Charlie Campbell, a housebuilding analyst at broker Liberum Capital, expects Barratt to report interim profits of £42m, nearly double last year’s figure, according to reports.