Builders Make Billions As Housing Crisis Escalates

Britain’s biggest housebuilding firms and their executives have pocketed billions of pounds as the country’s housing crisis escalates and affordable homes targets are missed. The four most powerful companies – Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and Berkeley Group – together made more than £2bn in pre-tax profits last year and are planning to give £6.6bn extra in dividends to shareholders by 2021. Meanwhile the number of affordable homes built fell to a 24-year low this year. Housebuilders argue that affordable housing targets are financially unviable. House prices have risen five times more than average wages in the last five years.  Our calculations also show that just eight directors working for major housebuilders together earned £230m in the last five years. Read more on the BIJ website.