Barratt shares surge 25% after bank deal reports

Shares in Barratt jumped 25% this morning following reports of a deal between the beleagured housebuilder and its lenders.

An agreement is understood to have been reached whereby the lenders will waive a clause which may have put Barratt in breach of its banking covenants after it writes down the value of its landbank in July.

Barratt's banks include the Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Lloyds and HSBC.

Barratt's share price climbed to 98p this morning, following news of the deal, and other housebuilders including Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and Redrow also enjoyed gains.

Barratt, which turns over £3bn, has debts of £1.8bn.