Housebuilder saw shares fall as much as 6% in morning trading after it lowered its operating profit forecast to around £420m for 2025
Taylor Wimpey’s order book was valued at £1.86 billion(Image: Taylor Wimpey)
Taylor Wimpey has revised its annual earnings forecast downwards following a slump in home sales due to uncertainty surrounding last November’s budget.
Shares in the housebuilder dipped by as much as 6% during Thursday morning’s trading after it announced an anticipated operating profit of around £420 million for 2025, an increase from £416.2 million in 2024 but less than the £424 million predicted in November.
The group attributed the downturn in sales during the latter half of last year and the impact on forward orders for 2026 to the uncertainty caused by the autumn budget.
By the end of the year, Taylor Wimpey’s order book was valued at £1.86 billion, a decrease from £2 billion at the close of 2024. This is expected to affect the company’s profitability throughout 2026.
This news follows Wednesday’s announcement from competitor Vistry that house sales fell in 2025 due to a “more subdued market” resulting from budget uncertainty.
Taylor Wimpey stated: “Uncertainty ahead of the late autumn budget impacted sales through the second half of 2025 and our order book coming into 2026.
“Whilst it is too early to predict the outcome of the spring selling season, we are experiencing a good level of inquiries consistent with last year.”
The company further noted: “We expect group operating profit margin to be lower in 2026 than in 2025 and, given the lower opening order book, for performance to be more second half-weighted in 2026 than in prior years.”
In its full-year update, Taylor Wimpey reported that it completed 10,614 UK homes last year, up from 9,972 in 2024, aligning with its forecasts.
The average selling price for private homes climbed to £374,000 from £356,000 the previous year, contributing to a revenue increase to approximately £3.8 billion, up from £3.4 billion in 2024. Jennie Daly, chief executive of Taylor, stated: “We delivered a robust performance during 2025 in the context of challenging market conditions.”
She added: “The Government’s planning reforms have been welcome, and we’ve seen increased momentum in our recent planning permissions.”
She further noted: “However, while affordability is slowly improving, demand continues to be muted – particularly among the important first-time buyer category – which will constrain overall sector output.”
