Barratt Redrow shares rose, leading the FTSE 100 gainers after the home builder reported higher forward sales at the start of its fiscal year.

London-listed shares were up 8.7% at 300.30 pence in morning trade.

The company said forward sales including joint ventures as at Sept. 6 were up 5.7% on year in volume at 11,200 units, and up 3.6% in value at 3.34 billion pounds ($4.50 billion). The company said 7,121 homes were already under contract or sold.

Its net private weekly reservation rate--a key metric for the sector--from June 29 to Sept. 6 was 0.62 per outlet per week, up from 0.55 a year earlier. The rate was boosted by 0.09 sales per site from bulk deals to private landlords and multiunit buyers, compared with zero the year before.

Still, the company trimmed its sales guidance for the fiscal year to a range of 17,500 to 17,900 units, down from 17,700 to 18,200 previously, citing planning delays and a smaller-than-expected number of outlet openings in the year rather than wider market troubles.

"The impact is still negative, and we would expect it to cascade down the income statement to put further pressure on operating margin and EPS expectations," Quilter Cheviot analyst Oli Creasey said of the guidance cut.

For its fiscal year ended June 28, Barratt Redrow reported a 33% rise in pretax profit to 363.5 million pounds, and a consensus-beating 8.6% rise in revenue to 6.06 billion pounds.