In a trading statement today Barratt said: “Recognising the impact of recent rises in the cost of living and as part of our commitment to being the employer of choice in the house building industry, the group brought forward its regular annual salary review from 1 July to 1 April 2022, awarding an increase to all eligible employees.

“This early salary increase, offering practical support to our employees, comes in addition to our recent extension of private medical insurance to our entire workforce and increased holiday and volunteering allowances.”

Trading during the start of the year has been strong with Barratt building an average of 362 homes per week “as a result of the continued commitment of our site teams and sub-ontractors, as well as increased use of our standard house types and modern methods of construction.”

Total build cost inflation is expected to remain at 6% for the year which will be offset by house price rises.

Barratt said: “While the build cost inflation outlook is uncertain, we anticipate it will remain at elevated levels over the coming months as suppliers move to more dynamic pricing, primarily as a result of energy cost volatility.

“As such, we will continue to work collaboratively with our supply chain partners to secure sustainable, competitive pricing, while maintaining the security of supply.

“Overall, our improved fixed cost efficiency, through completion volume growth, along with the c. 7% sales price inflation within our forward sales position at the start of the second half, means we continue to expect the effect of build cost inflation on margin to be broadly neutral or positive for the second half of FY22.”

David Thomas, Chief Executive added: “We are seeing strong demand across the country for our high quality, energy efficient homes and our excellent operational teams are working hard to meet this demand.

“We expect to deliver full year trading results in line with the Board’s expectations as we remain focused on growing towards our medium-term target of 20,000 homes a year, delivering high quality sustainable developments the country needs, creating jobs and supporting the economy across England, Scotland and Wales.”