The Berkeley Group has released its trading update for the period from 1st May 2025 to 31st August 2025.
The company reported stable trading, in line with the same period last year, and said it is on track to achieve pre-tax earnings guidance of £450m for the year ending 30th April 2026.
Around 85% of this profit is already secured through exchanged sales contracts.
Berkeley expects profits to be split evenly between the first and second half, depending on the timing of completions.
£121m was returned to shareholders through the purchase of 3.25 million shares at an average price of £37.20 each.
The 2011 shareholder returns programme is now finished, and Berkeley has completed the first £260m of its £2bn minimum shareholder returns target under the Berkeley 2035 strategy.
The next target is a further £640m by 30th September 2030, to be delivered through a mix of share buy-backs and dividends.
Net cash is expected to be around £300m by 30th April 2026, reflecting current shareholder returns, continued investment in its build-to-rent platform, and land payments.
Net cash at the half year may be slightly below £300m due to the timing of shareholder returns and completions.
Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, said: “Berkeley’s trading update this morning is light on detail but points to stable market conditions over the past four months (May–August), broadly in line with the same period last year.
“While investors may have been hoping for signs of progression, especially following earlier summer remarks that sales were running 5% ahead of last year, management has reiterated full-year guidance to April 2026, including a pre-tax profit target of £450m.
“The company has also issued guidance for the following year (to April 2027), indicating a similar level of profitability, suggesting muted growth prospects in the near to medium term.”
Creasey added: “Sell-side consensus currently implies around 3% growth in profitability for FY27, so while those estimates may get pared back slightly, the updated guidance won’t have come as a huge shock to analysts.
“Berkeley has deployed over £120m on share buybacks during the summer, though this pace is expected to moderate.
“The group has committed to returning a further £640m to shareholders over the next five years through a combination of dividends and buybacks.”
He said: “Management welcomed the Government’s constructive stance on planning reform but flagged that housebuilding activity in London has slowed to levels last seen during the global financial crisis.
“They continue to advocate for deregulation over increased taxation, warning that the latter could discourage investment in the sector.”
