Housebuilder Bellway said this morning that its annual profits more than doubled, but cautioned that supply chain woes are holding back construction activity.

The group posted a 102.4 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to £479m for the year to July 31 as revenues leaped 40.3 per cent to £3.12bn thanks to a booming property market.

Newcastle-based Bellway flagged the impact of ongoing supply chain disruption, which is pushing up prices of materials such as steel, timber and MDF, though it said there were some signs that recent soaring prices are “beginning to subside”.

It added that lorry driver shortages and the recent fuel crisis has also impacted materials availability while it is further battling amid wider labour shortages.

Bellway said: “In general, these constraints are manageable by adopting good procurement disciplines and forward planning.

“They will, however, mean that construction output in the first half of financial year 2022 is likely to remain similar to that achieved in the first half of financial year 2021.”