Hundreds of jobs to go as housebuilding giant announces closure of nine offices

Newly-merged housebuilding firm Barratt Redrow has announced that it is rapidly moving forward with its plans to close nine offices and lay off approximately 800 employees to reduce costs following its recent £2.5bn merger.

The company, which completed its acquisition of Redrow earlier this month after receiving approval from the competition regulator, has initiated a consultation on the proposed closure of five of the nine divisional offices earmaked for closure. It is estimated that 400 to 500 employees will be impacted by the five closures, with back office and central support roles being affected, although the final numbers are subject to the consultation.

The company emphasized that workers on development sites and sales office-based staff will not be affected by the cost-cutting measures. Barratt aims to save at least £90m in costs following the Redrow acquisition and revealed earlier this year that around 10% of the 8,300-strong combined workforce, or approximately 800 jobs, would be cut.

In its latest update, the company stated: "Following the receipt of CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) clearance on 4 October 2024, and the lifting of restrictions on our ability to undertake any integration activity, we have begun the integration of the two businesses at pace. As a result of our planning to date, we are confident that we can deliver cost synergies of at least £90m."

The company added that £33m of the total cost savings would come from the office closures across the UK. An additional £23m in savings, accounting for 25% of the total, will be achieved through reductions, including those in boardroom and senior management positions.

A Barratt Redrow spokesperson stated: "With the combination of Barratt and Redrow, we have carefully reviewed our existing office structures and geographic coverage so that we can combine our two companies in the most effective way possible."

"Our sites will not be affected, and all employees impacted by these proposals have been informed – we will commence a period of collective consultation with employees and are working closely with our teams to support anyone affected by these changes."

The announcement of office closures coincides with Redrow's observation of a stabilizing property market. The combined group is projected to complete between 16,000 to 17,000 homes in 2024-25. David Thomas, Barratt's chief executive, noted: "Whilst customer demand continues to be sensitive to the wider economy, we are beginning to see more stable market conditions with increased mortgage availability and affordability."

"It will take some time for customer confidence to fully recover from the macroeconomic headwinds faced over the past two years, but we are encouraged by the solid trading we have experienced over recent weeks."