Morris Homes’ £27m site spree
HOUSEBUILDER Morris Homes has reported a jump in orders and a £27m investment in its land bank.
The privately-owned Wilmslow company said private reservations in the nine months to December 31 had risen 43%.
The company, which has regional divisions in the North West, East and West Midlands, has bought sites in Peterborough, Telford, Worcester, Melton Mowbray, Marple and St Helens.
In a sign that confidence is returning to the troubled sector, Morris has also re-opened seven mothballed sites during the period and a further six sites are expected to open before the end of March this year, bringing its total number of outlets back to in excess of 50 for the first time in three years.
It has also stepped up the size of its labour force recently with around an additional 400 subcontractors being hired.
In its last audited accounts for the year ended March 2009 the company posted an underlying operating profit of £21m on sales of £112m.
Chief executive Mike Gaskell said:”Conditions improved significantly as we moved through last year.
“Our focus on building high quality family homes, and purchasing sites in areas of strong demand, has helped us to capitalise on this renewed confidence amongst homebuyers and achieve positive sales growth.
“We are well positioned to capitalise on further improved levels of buyer demand this year following an increase in build activity and our long-term strategy of building high quality family housing,” Mr Gaskell added.
