Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey launches £5m relief scheme for subcontractors

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has said it will make advance payments to subcontractors as part of a £5 million scheme aimed to prop up self-employed workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The construction business said its “Pay It Forward” scheme will cover work to be completed in the future by independent contractors.

It said it hopes the scheme will benefit tradespeople waiting for government financial aid or who do not qualify for financial support.

Pete Redfearn, chief executive of the company, said it is resilient and able to support its partners because the business has been managed in a “conservative and cautious way in recent years”.

Taylor Wimpey said the payments will only be made to contractors who have a long-standing relationship with the business.

The housebuilder said that many of its subcontractor partners were unable to continue trading after the 2008 financial crisis and hoped this move may help to keep workers afloat.

Mr Redfearn said: “Our community of suppliers, subcontractors and self-employed tradespeople that we work with is very important to us and to our ability to provide high quality homes for our customers.

“Supporting those we rely on is not only the right thing to do but will help ensure we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic in the best possible place with our community of tradespeople ready to help us resume the building of much needed high quality homes for our customers, when we are all in a position to do so.”

It said the scheme was piloted last week and will launch in full this week, with the funding expected to support around 2,750 individuals.

Shares in the company were up 1.2% at 128.7p on Wednesday.

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