The outlook for UK housebuilders after the pandemic

Covid-19 and the measures taken to contain it have caused an extraordinary level of operating losses, debt accumulation and dividend cancellation across the UK equity market.

However, even where headline metrics are similar, the longer-term consequences for businesses will vary dramatically. The housebuilders shocked investors with the speed at which balance sheets deteriorated and dividends were cancelled. Companies, such as Taylor Wimpey, which ended 2019 with more than £500m net cash on the balance sheet, should not have been cutting dividends in almost any scenario - except this one. Ten factors that could change economies and markets forever The sudden halt to building activity left housebuilders with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of near...