April 1 (Reuters) - British high-end homebuilder Berkeley said on Wednesday that it would stop buying new land and reduce work in progress as geopolitical volatility and challenging economic backdrop weighed on the housing market.
The update comes as the Iran war threatens to add strain to the housing sector by pushing up building costs and prolonging high interest rates, threatening an already fragile recovery in demand and profitability for homebuilders.
"We are forecasting we can absorb the expected cost inflation through optimisation of our land holdings, and the business plan gives the flexibility and agility to do this," Berkeley said in a statement.
The company said it was targeting operating margins of 17.5%-19.5% and delivering more than 1.4 billion pounds ($1.86 billion) of pre-tax profit between fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2030.
($1 = 0.7538 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Subhranshu Sahu)
