The housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) made more than £1bn profit last year thanks largely to the taxpayer-funded help-to-buy scheme, through which almost half of its homes were sold. The company, which sparked widespread public and political anger for attempting to pay its former chief executive Jeff Fairburn a £110m bonus, on Tuesday reported a 13% increase in pre-tax profits to £1.09bn. The huge profit – the biggest annual profit ever made by a UK housebuilder – means that Persimmon was making more than £66,000 profit on every house it sold last year. The average selling price of the homes sold by the builder was £215,563. Persimmon’s gains from the help-to-buy scheme, in which the government provides a guaranteed interest-free loan, have sparked a ministerial review. James Brokenshire, the housing minister, is said to be “increasingly concerned by the behaviour of Persimmon”. A source close to the minister said: “Given that contracts for the 2021 extension to help-to-buy are being reviewed shortly, which overall is a great scheme helping hundreds of thousands of people into home ownership, it would be surprising if Persimmon’s approach wasn’t a point of discussion.”
M&S confirms it is in talks with Ocado Group (OCDO) on food delivery service. Joint venture with Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) could spell end for Ocado’s deal with Waitrose. On Tuesday the companies issued identical statements confirming that they were in discussions “regarding a joint venture in UK retail”. News of the potential alliance leaked in January but at that time neither company would comment on the reports. The statement was rushed out after the Evening Standard reported that M&S was to pay Ocado between £800m and £900m for a 50% stake in the new venture. At present M&S does not have a fully fledged food delivery service.
