Shares in Berkeley Group (BKG) fell 18 per cent in early trading after the company issued negative guidance that implies downgrades of as much as 30 per cent to consensus profit before tax estimates.
The housebuilder said that it would pause new land purchases until returns improve, shrink its balance sheet and potentially slow the second phase of its investment in a 4,000-home build-to-rent portfolio, Berkeley Living.
As a result, it is guiding for a cumulative profit before tax of 拢1.4bn over FY2027-2030, with the spread slightly weighted towards FY2027. Analysts are forecasting 拢1.4bn over only FY2027-2029, according to FactSet, implying 25-30 per cent downgrades to these years.
Berkeley, which last updated the market fewer than three weeks ago on 13 March, reiterated that it was on track to meet its FY2026 profit before tax guidance of 拢450mn, and its target of distributing a further 拢564mn to shareholders by 2030, with a preference for buybacks over dividends.
The company said the new strategy would allow it to increase investment 鈥渨hen the market and regulatory environments inflect鈥 and boost shareholder returns 鈥渁s appropriate鈥.




