Taylor Wimpey sets aside £30m to replace cladding in wake of Grenfell disaster

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has set aside £30 million to replace flammable cladding on its developments, saying it was “morally right” to help customers in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Taylor Wimpey said it was supporting customers “both financially and practically” with the removal of the cladding and the plans for its replacement, despite the buildings being compliant with regulations when they were built.

“We have taken this decision for buildings constructed recently because we believe that it is morally right, not because it is legally required,” the housebuilder said.

“Our primary goal in doing this is seeking to ensure that any work is undertaken properly and promptly, but also to ensure that customers are not impacted by bills that are significantly greater than normal maintenance.”

Most of the money is for work on a development in Scotland, which was constructed under a previous set of building regulations.

Taylor Wimpey’s recladding initiative is related to all of its buildings which were constructed using aluminium composite material, a similar material to that used on Grenfell Tower.

The housebuilder announced its review of its current and legacy developments in its half-year results.

For the six months ended July 1, the group completed 6,497 homes, as compared to 6,648 homes during the same period in the prior year.

Revenue fell 0.4% to £1.72 billion, and profit before tax came in at £301 million, up 47% year-on-year from £205 million.

Pete Redfern, Taylor Wimpey’s chief executive, said: “As employment prospects remain positive and mortgage availability is good, customer demand for our homes has been strong in spite of some wider macroeconomic uncertainty.

“With a strong order book in place, we are confident in our prospects for the remainder of the year and looking further ahead.”