Barratt Developments Share News (BDEV)

* Makes 75 mln stg provision for cladding issues

* Identifies 26 affected buildings

* Says will act on buildings it own

* Shares down 0.8%
(Adds company comments, share move)

Feb 10 (Reuters) - British homebuilder Persimmon
earmarked 75 million pounds ($103.6 million) for removing or
replacing cladding material in some of its buildings on fire
safety concerns as the industry responds to a deadly blaze in a
London tower block four years ago.

Persimmon stopped short of laying out the exact steps it
will take on buildings it no longer owns, saying it "will act to
remove uncertainty and anxiety for residents" if the owner does
not step up.

"Where we still own the building we will act. Where we no
longer own them we will work with the owners to make sure they
meet their legal responsibilities and duty."

The move comes ahead of an update by housing minister Robert
Jenrick in parliament set for Wednesday, with the Guardian
reporting https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/09/ministers-to-increase-financial-support-for-cladding-removal
newspaper that ministers are set to announce billions of pounds
in extra support to address the cladding crisis.

Persimmon shares were down 1% at 27.6 pounds in early trade,
lagging the wider market.

A string of regulations have been implemented over the last
two years after a fire engulfed Grenfell Tower, a 24-story
London housing block in 2017, the deadliest domestic fire in
Britain since World War Two.

Persimmon, which accounts for less than 1% of all high-rise
developments in the UK, added that it identified 26 buildings
where cladding may need to be removed, as per new government
guidance.

The company also said that in the past it built multi-storey
buildings which met all the fire safety rules and regulations in
place at the time, but used cladding materials which may now be
considered unsafe and require removal.

Last week, Britain's largest homebuilder Barrat Developments
said it would keep aside 15.6 million pounds for
similar cladding=related issues.

In late 2019, an independent review identified that
Persimmon needed to improve the quality and build of its homes
and comply with guidelines, rather than just focus on
inspections immediately before and after the sale of a home.

($1 = 0.7239 pounds)
(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; editing by Bernard
Orr and Jason Neely)