Barratt to reveal £100m writedown

by Jonathan Russell Struggling housebuilder Barratt Developments will this week write down the value of its landbank by about £100m and provide details on a waiver of its banking covenants in an attempt to reassure investors about its financial health. Although the fall in the value of its assets is much smaller than the £620m hit taken by rival Taylor Wimpey last week, it will push Barratt closer to breaching banking covenants when it next faces a covenant test in December. Barratt has been locked in talks with its 10 bankers for weeks to find a way through the slowdown in the property market without breaching loan to value covenants on its £1.7bn of debt. However, it is understood that the firm is close to completing a deal to refinance a £600m loan facility used to buy Wilson Bowden last year. Concerns over the high debt... [read full story]