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Taylor Wimpey hands back furlough cash and launches £500m land-buying drive
Major house builder Taylor Wimpey will hand back funds received from the government furlough scheme and embark on a £500m fundraiser to capitalise on land acquisition opportunities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a stock market update the FTSE 100 builder said as of 1 June, all employees have returned from furlough and “given the resilience in trading and strength of the business, the company intends to return the taxpayer funds utilised from the government furlough scheme”.
The house builder also said disruption caused by the pandemic in land market has created opportunities to buy land at prices below pre-coronavirus levels and the announced a £500m fundraising drive into which a number of the firm’s directors have invested their own money.
The firm has agreed terms in principle on 13 sites and an additional pipeline of around 60 sites are currently under discussion and consideration.
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Pete Redfern, chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, said: “We have taken decisive and early action to conserve cash and increase flexibility through the COVID-19 pandemic and we are now seeing a significant opportunity to invest in land at attractive prices.
“We are today launching an approximately £500m equity raise from a position of strength, to enable us to take advantage of these near-term opportunities. These investments will support sustainable future growth and deliver enhanced, long-term value to shareholders.”
Mr Redfern added that the firm had seen “robust demand” for homes during the lockdown period.
Taylor Wimpey was among one of the first house builders to announce a phased return to construction after an initial decision to close sites and cancel dividend payments worth a combined £485m.
Wednesday’s stock market note said the company intends to resume ordinary dividend payment in 2021.
