Galliford report record profits and Crest report sales up 92% thanks to Help to Buy.
It is clear that the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme continues to help house builders as both Galliford Try and Crest Nicholson are clearly benefiting, judging by their recently released company statements.
Record profits at Galliford Try:
In their year-end results to 30 June 2013, CEO Greg Fitzgerald reported a record group profits of £74.1million up 17% on last year “were driven primarily by an improved margin in housebuilding reflecting the strong performance of our house building division”. This was despite 107 fewer homes being built in the year and a modest £3million rise in revenues from house building.
Andrew Richards, appointed in July 2013 as Managing Director of Housebuilding (Linden Homes) acknowledged the contribution that Help to Buy has made saying “we had previously only promoted shared-equity schemes for sites where houses were harder to sell, so as not to tie up our capital. Help to Buy requires no capital from us, making it suitable for all our developments. We have seen a marked uplift in reservations since 1 April, with around 31% of buyers using Help to Buy.” As a result the average selling price is up 5% to £262,000.
Crest Nicholson report forward sales up 92%
Forward sales of new homes at Crest Nicholson have nearly doubled to £145 million in the biggest rise in demand in the house builder’s 50 years existence. This is further evidence of the UK’s improving residential market. Crest Nicholson returned to the stock market in February with a £553million listing, described the increase in demand for new homes as “dramatic,” rising 46% since the beginning of May thanks to the introduction of the government’s Help to Buy scheme. This has resulted in an increase in overall forward sales up 92% on the same time last year.
