Wain Group confident going forward after strong financial performance

Wain Homes

Birchwood-based property development company, the Wain Group, has reported a strong end of year performance.

Figures released today by the privately-owned group, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, sees group revenues grow to £276.6m in the 12 months to October 2021, up from £259.2m the previous year (15 months), with pre tax profit increasing by more than £20m to £53.9m.

Wain Group is made up of housebuilder Wain Homes and land and property developer Wain Estates, formerly HIMOR, and has announced plans for further, significant growth.

Wain Homes operates in three established regions, the North West, the South West and the Severn Valley and in the last financial year completed 1,102 homes, increasing pre-tax profits to £43.9m on a turnover of £269m. A new region has been established in the West Midlands and the strategy is to grow housing delivery to 1,800 high quality family homes by 2026.

Wain Estates operates nationally from a North West base, focusing on land development, land promotion, property investment and commercial development. It is progressing one of the largest regeneration sites in the UK at Carrington, Greater Manchester, and reported revenue of £8.1m, fair value and revaluation gains on investment property of £7.2m, profit on disposal of investment properties of £4.6m and a pre-tax profit of £10.4m.

In addition to delivering strong numbers the group also carried out a comprehensive examination of the health of the business and how it should evolve going forward.

It identified a clear mission to exceed expectations in every way, with a purpose to create places its customers and colleagues are proud of and a vision to be the private developer everyone wants to work for.

Executive chairman Will Ainscough said: “We are keen to bring consistent cultural standards across the group to help us become an excellent employer. Being an excellent employer will help us attract the right talent, which is an essential part of our growth ambitions. We recognise we already employ fantastic people, but we will need more as the group grows.

“During the year we did a review on the business to find out how we could improve as an employer. We found out that we had a great business with a strong culture, but certain improvements were needed. Now that we have acted on these suggestions we can confidently portray ourselves as a fantastic place to work.”

He added: “The review also led to the introduction of a comprehensive mission, purpose and vision with supporting values. We then used these as a foundation for a total rebrand of the business, which saw HIMOR change its name to Wain Estates.”

Despite the mixed impact COVID-19 has had on the UK housing market, the general under supply of housing, coupled with strong demand and continued access to finance, has ensured the outlook for the sector remains encouraging.

Wain Estates’ strong year was underpinned by the strength of the UK commercial property market and its hands-on and personal approach to tenants has ensured occupancy levels continue to remain high across its property portfolio, it said.

The Carrington Estate remains the largest project with the group and the site benefits from a significant draft allocation in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s ‘Places for Everyone.’

The annual report concludes: “Despite the continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the outlook for the UK housing and commercial property markets remains generally positive with continued low interest rates and high employment rates.

“The group believes that both markets remain relatively stable and that conditions are suitable to sustain further growth.”

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