‘It’s tough out there’: cracks in UK housebuilding sector grow by the day

Insolvencies rocket as army of small firms - seen as backbone of the sector - struggle with falling demand, rising interest rates and higher costs

It's tough out there," says Steve Midgley, the managing director of Fairgrove Homes. His east Midlands firm, which builds about 50 homes a year, is one of Britain's army of small housebuilders that are struggling with falling demand, rising interest rates, labour shortages, and high material and wage costs.

It's taking longer for people to sell their own house," says Midgley. So it's taking vastly longer to exchange contracts. After the reservation, we're talking three or four months, whereas at one time we'd have had that down to four to six weeks. And that all puts stress on the working capital, the work in progress and everything."