19th Feb 2015 09:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - Housebuilder and brownfield land developer Inland Homes PLC Thursday said it achieved a "very strong performance" in the first half of its financial year, as an increase in the sale of residential units was aided by the UK government's Help to Buy scheme.
In a trading update, the company said the sale of 199 residential units were completed in the six months to end-December, including units being managed on behalf of Drayton Garden Village Ltd. That compares with only 47 units in the first half of last year.
"30% of these sales were assisted by the government's Help to Buy scheme. The average selling price of these units was GBP239,000, compared with GBP271,000 last year," the company said in its statement.
Looking forward to the second half of the year, Inland Homes said it expects to dispose of a number of sites, having made no land sales during the first half. That includes Drayton Garden Village Ltd's sale of 205 plots at Drayton Garden Village to an institutional operator in the private rented sector, which Inland Homes said is expected to conclude this year. The purchaser is forward funding the entire development, and Inland Homes said the purchaser is looking for scale, hence evaluating its other potentially suitable sites.
"Inland Homes has delivered significant growth during the first half of the current financial year with record sales in both unit and revenue terms. The size of the business has expanded and is set to grow further with the new funding sources. We are well placed to deliver strong growth during the remainder of this financial year," said Chief Executive Stephen Wicks in a statement.
The group said it has received planning consent or resolution to grant planning consent on 568 residential plots this year and planning applications for a further 557 residential plots are awaiting a decision.
Inland Homes said its joint venture deal with CPC Group Ltd provides further funding power for the group to exploit some new land opportunities. The group had cash balances of GBP9.8 million at the end of December, and net borrowings of GBP24.8 million.
Shares in Inland Homes were up 2.2% at 57.50 pence Thursday morning.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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