News

McCarthy & Stone is named Britain’s most reliable builder

McCarthy & Stone, provider of hundreds of retirement homes in across the UK, has emerged as Britain’s most reliable builder.

The company topped the charts in a survey of construction skills, compiled by the NHBC (National House Building Council).

Builders are rated by the number of warnings issued by the NHBC's inspectors during spot checks on building sites, where they look out for poor workmanship, infringement of building regulations and breach of health and safety rules.

In almost every one of the last 12 months, McCarthy & Stone was top of the league. And in the last quarter, the company earned twice as many plus points as the second-placed builder.

The NHBC report was released the same day as another major survey of British housebuilders, in which McCarthy & Stone is one of only six companies to gain a ‘full house’ of stars in a customer satisfaction test. It was also the only builder specialising in retirement to gain the top rating.

Nearly 40 major housebuilders came under scrutiny through a MORI poll asking new home buyers about the service they received from their builder. This is broken down into categories of overall satisfaction with quality, construction and finish, value for money, satisfaction with service, condition on moving day, and after-sales service.

McCarthy & Stone, along with only five others, won a full clutch of three stars in every category.

This survey is run by the Housing Forum – a group set up by the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and Department of Trade and Industry to measure trends in the quality of housing provision.

Keith Lovelock, chairman of McCarthy & Stone, said: “We take build quality and service very seriously as some of our residents will be moving in stressful circumstances, perhaps after the loss of a partner.

“It is vitally important that we have everything ready for them on time to make their move as trouble-free as possible.

“Our site staff pay close attention to detail throughout the construction programme and try to ensure that interruptions caused by faulty materials or poor building methods are eliminated. It is a culture that runs throughout the company.

“We also check every apartment individually before anyone takes up residence, and have a fast-response system in place should they discover any problems after moving in.”