Bellway timed move away from London "just right"says chairman

Housebuilder Bellway has timed its move away from London "just right", chairman Howard Dawe will tell shareholders today at its AGM.

With a record order book of £325m since August 1, Dawe said that the group had made the right decision to move away from the high-priced central London market after changes to its product and geographical spread.

Average sale prices for the group are also seeing a "substantial increase" despite low mortgage rates, under-supply and healthy demands continuing to underpin the housing market.

Dawe said: "On the basis of our performance to date and in line with our plans, we anticipate a more balanced distribution of sales and profit between the first and second halves."

The group is expecting to announce a "good set of results" for the six months ending 31 January on April 10.