The boards of both companies agreed a merger deal in February, a move which has been under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) due to concerns that it could significantly reduce competition.

Having concluded a detailed Phase 1 investigation into the deal – which included assessing competition on the national level and in local areas across Great Britain – the CMA recently found competition concerns in an area around Whitchurch, Shropshire.

The two companies currently hold a large share of land in the catchment area around Barratt’s Tilstock Road development and Redrow’s Kingsbourne development in Nantwich.

While this deal did not raise UK-wide competition concerns, the CMA found that it could lead to higher prices and lower quality homes for homebuyers in this catchment area.

In an update on Monday, Barratt waived any concerns about the merger, adding that it would press on with its plans despite not receiving final approval from the CMA.

The group said it has “waived the CMA Condition to the Scheme and the parties now intend to complete the combination (“completion”) later this week”.

It said: “Barratt and Redrow are continuing to engage with the CMA with the objective of agreeing suitable undertakings which would address the CMA’s limited concerns and avoid the need for a reference to a full Phase 2 investigation.”

“This removes uncertainty for the employees, supply chain and wider stakeholder groups of both businesses, and allows us to accelerate the creation of an exceptional UK homebuilder in terms of quality, service and sustainability, which can accelerate the delivery of high-quality, sustainable homes and communities for customers, addressing the country’s need for homes,” the company added.

Barratt said it expected the deal to be completed within 18 months.

Once completed the merger will create the UK’s largest housebuilding firm to be known as Barratt Redrow which will turn over £7.45bn and deliver over 22,600 homes a year.

The CMA’s Phase 1 decision is separate from its ongoing Competition Act 1998 (CA98) investigation into eight housebuilders – including Barratt and Redrow – over suspected sharing of competitively sensitive information.