Impressive progress for land development specialist
Ainscough Strategic Land has announced a strong set of annual figures as the Leigh-based company sets a course for long-term growth.
The firm works in partnership with landowners to secure planning permission for housing or mixed-use developments and shares in the uplift in value once the land is sold with planning permission.
Turnover in the year to end-September 2019 increased from £3.3m to £10.6m, delivering a profit before tax of £8.2m, compared with £554,000 in 2018.
The sale of consented sites grew from two to six, delivering land for 830 homes, up from 415 a year ago, with a sale value of £53.6m, compared with £15.9m the previous year.
“It’s been a very busy year and a credit to the strength of our partnerships and the quality of our team,” said group managing director Rachael Ainscough.
“In spite of the headwinds the fundamentals for house building remain strong and we are gearing up for further growth this year.”
Major sites sold include a 120-home scheme at Poynton, Cheshire to Bloor Homes for more than £16m, a 130-home site in Thornbury, near Bristol, to David Wilson Homes for £12m and a 100-home development on the edge of Swindon to Backhouse for £7m.
The company announced that in the past year it secured agreements on sites with capacity for a further 1,000 homes, to add to the 4,700 units currently in its pipeline.
All of these projects are being promoted through the planning system to bring forward much-needed housing as soon as possible.
The firm’s business is predominantly based on landowners signing a promotion agreement, whereby Ainscough assume the risk and cost of promoting the land through planning and land sale, recovering their outlay and profit share only on a successful open market disposal.
Ms Ainscough said: “We’ve currently 19 live sites under agreement, with ambitions to increase that to 30 across the next couple of years.
“It’s a challenge to deliver a smooth flow of sites to conclusion, so turnover can be rather lumpy.
“Growing a balanced portfolio should help manage this moving forward and we are recruiting again in a bid to build a bigger pipeline.”
She added: “We’re fortunate to have access to substantial private funds and retained profits which makes managing the cash flow of this business possible.”
This week the company will make its maiden appearance at rural land-owners’ annual gathering, the Farm Business Innovation show at the NEC in Birmingham, hosting a large stand where it will be meeting landowners, agents and consultants to further grow the reputation of the business across the country.
“We operate across England from our base in the North West and work extensively with local partners wherever we have a site,” said Ms Ainscough.
“Renewing valued contacts and making new ones will be key to driving future growth.”
