House builder Taylor Wimpey plans to spend around £150m this year fixing fire safety defects as it ramps up remediation work to fix a backlog of fire safety work.

The firm has now revealed that previously hidden defects involving cavity barriers behind brickwork and render account for up to two-thirds of the steep £222m hike in its cladding remediation provision last year.

The problems only emerged after intrusive investigations and updated Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) assessments carried out as part of the Government’s remediation action plan.

Earlier non-intrusive checks had failed to detect the missing or defective barriers.

The builder said evolving interpretations of the PAS9980 fire safety standard by chartered fire engineers had also pushed up costs.

Some buildings previously deemed acceptable under earlier EWS1 assessments have since been flagged for remediation following more detailed FRAEW inspections.

Taylor Wimpey said the provision includes an allowance to fix cavity barrier defects in buildings that have not yet undergone intrusive inspections, which will reduce as more assessments are completed.

The house builder revealed the full extent of cavity barrier defects as it unveiled results for the year to December 2025.

Despite the remediation hit, Taylor Wimpey still delivered solid trading with revenue rising 13% to £3.84bn.

Pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items slipped to £394m from £418m the previous year.

However, reported pre-tax profit fell sharply to £146.5m after taking the remediation provision.

The firm completed 11,229 homes during the year including joint ventures, up from 10,593 previously.

Average private selling prices increased to £374,000 while the overall average selling price reached £335,000.

Chief executive Jennie Daly said: “We delivered a robust performance in 2025, with completions up 6% and results in line with guidance – testament to the hard work and commitment of our teams in delivering the Group’s strategy against a challenging market backdrop.”

She added that the spring selling season was progressing well with encouraging customer interest and improved planning outcomes supporting outlet growth.

Looking ahead, Taylor Wimpey expects UK completions of between 10,600 and 11,000 homes in 2026.

The firm said adjusted operating profit for the year is expected to be around £400m as margins soften due to pricing pressure in the order book and continued build cost inflation.