Barratt Developments has reported a rise in housing completions during the last six months of 2017.

In a trading update ahead of the release of its interim results on 21 February 2018, the house builder revealed total completions including joint ventures stood at 7,324, compared with 7,180 during the same period in 2016.

Barratt said: "The Group has delivered a strong first half performance, with good customer demand driven by a positive market backdrop.

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"The land market remains favourable and we have secured attractive land opportunities which exceed our minimum hurdle rates. The business performance continues to benefit from good mortgage availability and a supportive Government policy environment."

David Thomas, Chief Executive, said: "As the UK's largest housebuilder we remain firmly committed to helping address the housing shortage whilst delivering excellent operational and financial performance."

On its future outlook, the housebuilder said: "The Group continues to focus on driving operational improvements throughout the business, with a particular focus on margin improvement over the medium term. Given good demand and our healthy forward order book we continue to expect to deliver modest growth in wholly owned completions in FY18."

(LM)