Countryside boosts profit following affordable and PRS homes drive

Countryside Properties has announced an 11% profit boost, with a greater number of affordable and PRS home completions driving growth. In its 2019 H1 results, the housebuilder reported that its operating profit had grown to £563.7m from £468m in the previous comparable period. The number of completed homes increased by 43% to 2,362 homes this year compared with 1,655 the year before, mainly due to an increase in the number of affordable and PRS new home completions. Affordable home completions were up 80% to 938 homes (compared with 520 homes in 2018) following the acquisition of Westleigh. PRS home completions increased by 68% to 608 homes (compared with 362 homes last year) following a framework agreement with Sigma Capital Group. Countryside group chief executive Ian Sutcliffe said: “We have delivered excellent growth in the first six months of the year and have continued positive momentum into the second half. “We see strong demand for our high-quality homes and have underpinned margins with operational efficiency and the opening of our modular panel factory. We remain confident of delivering full-year and medium-term expectations.” To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette Photo: General Images/UIG/REX/Shutterstock