Housebuilder says it will sell 5% more homes in 2011
Housebuilder Bellway has said it will beat profit forecasts on the back of a strong start to the spring selling season.
Real-time Share PriceAnnouncing interim results showing profits up 26% to £24m, it said it now expected to increase the number of homes sold in the full year by 5% on 2010. Last autumn it said a good result would be to match 2010’s sales.
Finance director Alistair Leitch said: “The highlight is that we’re seeing a return to the traditional spring selling pattern. Around October last year we were concerned it wouldn’t happen, but since January we’ve seen an increase.
“It looks like people have taken stock of where they are in their jobs, and those that have got reassurance are pressing ahead with purchasing. For all buyers apart from first time buyers the market’s quite good at the moment, with low mortgage rates.”
Leitch said the 5% increase in home sales on last year would bring with it a “consequent increase in profits.”
The number of sales per site per week has increase from 0.43 between August and January, to almost 0.6 since then. Bellway is now operating at 200 sites, and plans to bring 10 to the market in the next few weeks.
Bellway sold 2,332 homes in the first six months of the financial year, up 4% on 2010, generating turnover of £408m, up 13%.
Leitch also welcomed the chancellor’s announcement of £250m scheme to help first time buyers purchase new build homes. He said the announcement could provide a boost to income in the next financial year, with Bellway having sold 800 homes through the previous scheme run by Labour.
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