In a letter to its suppliers, the company said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its business had been “significant and unprecedented”, adding that new site safety measures had slowed its build rate.

Bellway said it needed to review its business model and has put 79 roles at risk of redundancy in its 22 divisions.

The letter from a Bellway commercial manager, seen by The Times, reads: “As an industry we need to work together to review our cost base, we are therefore looking for our trusted subcontractors to work with us to come up with new ideas or revisit old ones that we can consider that will benefit both businesses.”

During the lockdown, Bellway put 75% of its 3,200-strong workforce on furlough, but has since brought back all staff, reopening sales offices and recommencing work on construction sites.

A spokesman said: “Like all businesses, the impact of COVID-19 has been significant and we are looking at ways of working together with our trusted partners, suppliers and subcontractors to reduce our cost base in order to be able to increase production, which will benefit all parties.

“As you will be aware, although construction sites reopened following lock-down, the new way of safe working means that production is slower than pre-COVID-19 so we are looking at ways we can increase our production without increasing costs.

“At a group-wide level we have started communications with partners about reducing costs in order to help the business respond to the unprecedented impact COVID-19 has had on the sector.

“We value the relationship with our long-term partners so we are looking to work with them in finding ways to reduce costs.”