Taylor Wimpey has launched a share buyback programme worth up to £52.3 million, running until 30 June 2026, following a 54% decline in pre-tax profits for 2025. The programme will be executed through Citigroup Global Markets Limited acting as riskless principal.
The FTSE 100 housebuilder’s decision follows the release of full year results showing profit before tax falling to £146.5 million from £320.3 million in 2024. The company reported exceptional costs totalling £243.8 million, primarily comprising a £225.8 million net cladding fire safety provision increase and £18 million in costs related to a voluntary agreement with the Competition and Markets Authority.
Financial performance
Revenue increased 13% to £3.84 billion from £3.40 billion, whilst adjusted operating profit rose marginally by 1.1% to £420.6 million. However, adjusted operating profit margin contracted by 1.3 percentage points to 10.9%. Basic earnings per share declined 54.8% to 2.8 pence, whilst the ordinary dividend per share was reduced by 19.5% to 7.62 pence. Net cash position weakened by 39.3% to £342.6 million.
Group completions including joint ventures reached 11,229 homes, up from 10,593 in 2024. UK home completions excluding joint ventures totalled 10,614, including 2,220 affordable homes. The UK average selling price on private completions increased to £374,000 from £356,000.
Buyback structure
Under the programme, approximately 25 million acquired shares will be held in treasury, with the remainder cancelled. The buyback operates under authority granted at the company’s Annual General Meeting on 30 April 2025, permitting repurchase of up to 354,006,117 shares. Citigroup will handle purchases and on-sales independently of Taylor Wimpey’s direction.
The company has updated its distribution policy to maintain overall distribution at 7.5% of net assets per annum or at least £250 million, with 5% returned via ordinary dividend and 2.5% through either ordinary dividend or share buyback.
Market conditions and outlook
Taylor Wimpey entered 2026 with a reduced order book of £2.18 billion comprising 7,678 homes, compared to £2.28 billion and 8,097 homes in the equivalent 2025 period. The company attributed this to uncertainty among house buyers ahead of the Autumn 2025 Budget.
As at 1 March 2026, the year-to-date net private sales rate stood at 0.74 per outlet per week, down from 0.76 in the equivalent 2025 period. Excluding bulk deals, the rate was 0.73 compared to 0.76. The cancellation rate improved to 14% from 16%.
The housebuilder opened 71 UK outlets during 2025, a 29% increase from 55 in 2024, operating from an average of 208 outlets and ending the year with 219 outlets. The company stated it is on site at all outlets required to deliver 2026 UK completions, expected to range between 10,600 and 11,000 excluding joint ventures.
Taylor Wimpey anticipates 2026 performance to be weighted towards the second half, with approximately 40% of completions in the first half. The company expects 2026 adjusted operating profit to be around £400 million, below the 2025 figure, reflecting softer pricing in the order book and continued low single-digit build cost inflation.
The company maintained its five-star rating for customer service in the Home Builders Federation survey with a score of 4.24, and reported a Construction Quality Review score of 4.96, up from 4.93 in 2024.
