In a trading update today the company said its continued development, trialling and implementation of these methods will result in them being used in the construction of 20% of its homes by 2020.

Such margin improvements are “expected to deliver a modest improvement to the board’s previous expectations this financial year”, it added.

“We are making good progress on our medium term targets,” the board said. “We continue to focus on driving margin improvements through the business, which are expected to deliver a modest improvement to the board’s previous expectations this financial year.

“The operational improvements that we have made through our new product range, including our concentration on standardised product, underpin our ability to acquire land at a minimum 23% gross margin. We continue to expect to approve between 18,000-22,000 plots for purchase per annum over this year and for the next two financial years, which will support our volume growth aspirations.”

In the year to June 2018 Barratt made pre-tax profit of £835.5m on revenue of £4.87bn. For the first six months of the current financial year it made £408m profit before tax, up 19% on the previous year, on revenue up 7% to £2.13bn.

Total forward sales (including joint ventures) as at May 5 were up 2.4% on the prior year comparable at a value of £3,365.1m.

Chief executive David Thomas said: “Whilst we continue to monitor the market closely, we are confident of delivering a good financial and operational performance in FY19.”