'Worst month for decades' at £35m Bellway

Bellway dive to £35m Hugo Duncan, Evening Standard Bellway declared the last month the worst in decades for housebuilders as the market collapsed in the face of the deepening financial crisis. The firm said it was selling just 50 or 60 homes a week - less than half its run rate a year ago - as mortgage lending dried up and buyers deserted the market. Bellway also reported tumbling profits, slashed its dividend and said that, with revenues expected to be down 12.5% in the next year, it was forced to write down the value of the land it owns by £130.9m. Alistair Leitch, the 54-year-old finance director who joined Bellway in 1981, said: 'The world has changed dramatically over the last month in particular. I have never seen it as bad as this. 'We are not going to see any upturn through winter or spring. The earliest we might see... [read full story]