BRITISH HOUSEBUILDER Redrow said yesterday it had secured a new £450 million (€561 million) debt facility to 2011, sending its share prices up more than 9 per cent.

The company also announced a near halving in annual profit and said it would not pay a final dividend in order to preserve cash following the sharp decline in the housing market, which it expects to remain tough for the foreseeable future.

Redrow said in its results statement that it had agreed a new covenant package appropriate to the current trading environment.

Chief executive Neil Fitzsimmons said the effective interest rate on its debt was some 6.5 per cent last year, but was probably "going to move up a couple of per cent for 2008-09".

Pretax profit before exceptional items was £65.5 million in the year to end-June, down from £121.1 million the year before, on revenues down 22 per cent to £650 million.

Redrow said it had reviewed the value of its land and work under progress, resulting in a £259.4 million exceptional charge.

In a note to investors, Hargreaves Landsdown analyst Keith Bowman said Redrow had counterbalanced the negative news of landbank writedowns with the good news regarding the new banking facilities.

Mr Bowman said the landbank writedown highlights question marks over rival housebuilders and their valuation policies.