Mark Clare interview: The money's in high-end properties for Britain's biggest housebuilder Barratt Developments - Telegraph

Mark Clare interview: The money's in high-end properties for Britain's biggest housebuilder Barratt Developments - Telegraph

If Britain's housebuilders expected 2010 to offer fewer obstacles than the mass refinancings of 2009, then they were disappointed.

On top of fragile economic conditions and what has been dubbed as a "second slip" in prices, management have faced poor weather, the uncertainty of a general election, drastic public spending cuts, further falls in mortgage lending, and an ill-timed overhauling of the planning system.

In the face of such challenges, perhaps it is no surprise that Mark Clare has turned to "prime".

The chief executive of Barratt Developments, the UK's biggest housebuilder, is relaxed and assured as he leads a tour around a new development at Canada Water in East London.

House prices may be falling in parts of the UK, but this year they are 30pc up at the Maple Quay scheme and the next stage of the project – which is still being constructed – is already 86pc sold.