'Help to Buy' boosts builder Redrow with above-expected profit rise

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - British housebuilder Redrow exceeded expectations on Tuesday as it posted a 53 percent rise in full-year pretax profit, spurred on by the government's "help to buy" scheme designed to help younger and first-time buyers purchase a property.

Redrow (LSE: RDW.L - news) , which built 4,022 homes in the 12 months to the end of June, made a pretax profit of 204 million pounds, against an average forecast of 195.81 million according to a Thomson Reuters poll of 12 analysts.

Britain recorded double-digit or near double-digit house price rises for much of 2014, largely due to big increases in London and the southeast, although growth has been more subdued so far this year, partly due to some buyers being put off in the run-up to the May general election. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by David Holmes)