Britain’s second biggest house builder has seen trade contractor tender price inflation all but disappear as orders slide.

In trading statement covering 2023, the firm said UK completions were down a third to 10,438 from 13,773 in 2022.

Despite ongoing market and planning challenges, chief executive Jennie Daly said full-year operating profit would be at the top end of its previous guidance range of £440m to £470m.

She added that as expected, prevailing build cost inflation continued to moderate throughout the second half of last year and was now running at 0-1% on new tenders.

“We will continue to focus on driving value and sales performance, maintaining tight control on costs and investment in work in progress.”

Taylor Wimpey starts 2024 with a reduced order book down 9%.

Daly said: “While too early in the year to gauge customer behaviour, we have seen good levels of enquiries so far this year.

“Looking ahead, it is encouraging to see a reduction in mortgage rates, however, in the short term the market remains uncertain and the planning backdrop extremely challenging.

“Taylor Wimpey is a strong and agile business underpinned by a robust balance sheet and an excellent, well-located landbank.

“We remain confident in the attractive medium and long term fundamentals of the sector.”

The house builder ended the year with a strong net cash position of £678m (2022: £864m)