Taylor Wimpey says all workers have returned from furlough
Taylor Wimpey says all of its workers have returned from furlough and it is seeing a “very high level of demand” for viewing appointments at its show homes.
The house building company was among a number of businesses to furlough its workers under the government’s wage subsidy scheme during the strictest period of the lockdown.
Based on figures from 2019, it directly employed, on average, 5,796 people across the UK, not including sub-contractors.
In a business update, the High Wycombe-based firm said: “All of our employees have no returned to work as of the beginning of June with none remaining on furlough.
“Many are still working from home, including those shielding or those who are shielding someone vulnerable.”
The company is completing construction work on most of its sites across England and Wales and told investors its order book is “strong”, with a “healthy increase in reservations” in recent weeks.
Taylor Wimpey said: “Forward indicators have improved since reopening our sales centres in England and we have experienced a strong level of interest with a threefold increase in appointment bookings made in the week to 31 May 2020 and a 32% increase in website traffic compared to the same period last year.”
It is preparing for a return to construction in Scotland with government guidelines there, it added.
Total group completions in the 22 weeks to the end of May were 2,455, compared to 4,052 during the same period last year, a difference the company said reflected the impact of site closures during lockdown.
:: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
The UK order book as at the week ending 31 May totalled approximately £2.7bn, compared to £2.5bn at the same point last year.
Shares were up 4.5% in early trading on Friday.
In April Taylor Wimpey cancelled this year’s annual bonuses for its executive directors and cut the basic salaries for top bosses by 30% to help the company survive the lockdown.
That followed confirmation that it had scrapped plans to pay out dividends worth £485m over coming months.
(c) Sky News 2020: Taylor Wimpey says all workers have returned from furlough