Housebuilder Redrow posts record profits
REDROW posted record sales and profits yesterday after government measures designed to stimulate the housing market boosted the firm’s number of completions last year by 27 per cent.
The Flintshire-based housebuilder said it completed 3,597 sales in the 12 months to 30 June, compared with 2,827 the previous year thanks to the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme, which accounted for 35 per cent of private completions.
The value of private reservations secured during the year reached £1bn – up 53 per cent on 2013 – while the average selling price of its homes increased by 13 per cent to £239,500.
The strong performance helped to lift revenues by 43 per cent to a record £865m and push up profits before tax by 91 per cent to £132.6m.
Redrow’s chairman, Steve Morgan, who founded the company 40 years ago, said: “Market conditions have returned to a more seasonal pattern of activity. We have substantially increased our land bank, which should see a good growth in the number of outlets during the year.”
“This, combined with our strong order book, leaves me confident that the group will see another year of significant progress,” he said.
Redrow cautioned that new rules introduced by the Mortgage Market Review had “undoubtedly moderated the market”, forcing activity back to a more seasonal pattern.
The group also warned that a shortage of skilled people was preventing housebuilders from increasing their output in line with demand.