British Builder Offers Unusual Incentive

London, England, Sept. 10, 2008--Barratt Developments PLC, Britain's second-biggest house builder by volume, said that full-year profits fell by 71 percent as the credit crunch depressed sales in the second half.

Barratt announced new incentives to boost sales by making a limited offer to reimburse buyers if they lose money when they resell their homes.

The company reported a net profit of $152 million for the year ending June 30, compared to $523.7 million pounds in the previous year.

The company wrote down the value of its land holdings by $366.8 million. Revenue rose 16.7 percent to 3.55 billion pounds.

Chief Executive Mark Clare said "there is little prospect for any material improvement in trading conditions until mortgage finance and customer confidence return."

Barratt said that if a home buyer sold the property within three years at a loss, the company would refund any loss up to 15 percent. It also offered to pay the 1 percent tax on homes worth up to $880,000.

Recent reports have shown average house prices in Britain falling by more than 10 percent in the last year.


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