Barratt, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley share prices are on the up as Theresa May’s Help to Buy

What happens when you promise £10bn to help young people buy a home? The companies building houses get a boost.

Shares in housebuilders are on the up this morning and among some of the biggest FTSE 100 risers after Prime Minister Theresa May promised the fresh cash for the Help to Buy scheme.

Barratt Development and Persimmon jumped more than three per cent as markets opened, while Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Group were up more than two per cent.

Read more: The UK must get off the help to buy binge

May promised to back home buyers in a bid to woo young voters as the Conservative Party conference kicked off on Sunday.

Housebuilders’ stock had fallen over the summer after it was suggested the government had been considering bringing the scheme to an end. Around a third of newly completed homes use the Help to Buy scheme.