Cheap land deals are benefiting Barratt

Barratt Developments unveiled a surge in first-half profits and sales yesterday, continuing its recovery despite little help from the state of the housing market overall.

The builder is benefiting from building on land bought at lower prices since the housing bubble burst, and expects a 40 per cent rise in profits to £61m for the six months to December. It has seen a slight fall from overseas buyers, but demand from buy-to-let investors continued.

"We've seen a strong first half with our strategy delivering significant improvements in profitability," Barratt's finance director David Thomas said yesterday.

The company's shares jumped 11 per cent to 107.2p.