Mount Anvil profits hit new record high as residential developer targets 1,000 new homes
London property developer Mount Anvil posted a 25 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to reach a new record of £25m last year, after partnering with other developers to deliver nearly 500 new homes across the capital.
The private company, which is redeveloping Keybridge tower in Vauxhall as well as Dollar Bay in the Isle of Dogs, said turnover also hit a new high of £252.1m – up 16 per cent compared with 2014.
Some £41m of pre-tax profits were generated for its joint venture partners, which include A2Dominion, Affinity Sutton and One Housing Group, as well as £25m for the company.
In total, it delivered 460 new homes in the year compared with 355 in 2014, of which more than one in four were tenure-blind affordable homes.
These included The Filaments, a 340-bed development in Wandsworth Town, and an art deco building near Old Street roundabout called The Eagle, which also contains office space for tech start-ups.
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At year-end, Mount Anvil had a pipeline of 1,100 new homes and 108,000 square feet of commercial space worth £1.09bn, which was slightly down on the £1.36bn at the end of 2014. The value of forward sales was £498m, of which 91 per cent was exchanged.
Chief executive Killian Hurley, who co-founded the business in 1991, said it has cut back on the number of acquisitions in response to an "inflated land market" and was focusing on large complex regeneration sites in London which have the potential to offer greater value over the longer-term instead.
Locations in Nine Elms, Northwood and Parsons Green have already been identified from the potential 50 site for development.
Commenting on the outlook for the property market in London, Hurley said "the foundations remain strong" but buyers were being more discerning and that as a company it was "having to work harder".
"Buyers are being more discerning. They are keen to know the developer's background and that's where the reputation of the Mount Anvil brand becomes more important. Some 30 per cent of our buyers have bought with us before or have been introduced by someone who has bought," he said.
Last month, the company announced a partnership with the Aston Martin racing to help widen its reach and entice new buyers, who will be offered tickets to events such as Silverstone and Le Mans in France.
"Aston Martin has a huge following in the UK and overseas and we think it will widen our pool of buyers," Hurley said.