Persimmon says 2017 profit will be better than expected

Persimmon has said 2017 profits will be higher than expected as demand for new homes continues to grow.

The York-based business said it sold 16,043 homes last year for a total of £3.42bn, a 9% increase on 2016.

In a trading update, the country’s second biggest housebuilder said: “We anticipate our pre-tax profits for the year will be modestly ahead of market consensus.”

The group added that it continued to pursue growth in “regional markets” to “support the government’s desire to increase housing supply across the UK”. The average selling price of its homes increased by 3% to £213,300.

The company will publish its full-year results on 27 February.

Persimmon has been at the centre of recent controversy about executive pay with the firm paying its chief executive Jeff Fairburn a £110m bonus – nearly half of which came in £50m worth of shares handed out at the end of last month.