Wain Group hails ‘robust’ figures in face of subdued housing market

Wain Group, the Warrington-based property business comprising Wain Homes and Wain Estates, has seen its annual turnover and profits fall, but hailed its “robust” end of year figures, pointing to an increase in net value assets.

During the year to October 31, 2023, the group achieved revenues of £306.7m, down from £340m the previous year, and a pre-tax profit of £28.7m, which is compared with £57.6m in 2022.

The net asset value of £384.1m was up on £370.5m the previous year.

It said, despite the difficult planning environment resulting in significant delays bringing new sites to market, Wain Homes performed well in the year, delivering 1,028 homes across the North West, the South West and Severn Valley regions and was awarded 5-Star Builder status based on customer recommendation scores.

Wain Estates is now one of the UK’s leading strategic land companies following a large land portfolio acquisition, it added.

In the financial period, the independently-owned group reported currently controlled land holdings with an estimated Gross Development Value (GDV) of £8.751bn, up from £5.277bn in 2022.

Wain Homes delivered a turnover of £284.2m, an operating profit of £30.7m and is on track to be building 1,600 homes per year by 2028.

Group executive chairman, Will Ainscough, said: “The UK economy has faced double digit inflation over the period with the Bank of England responding by increasing interest rates to their highest levels since 2008.

“This resulted in a subdued housing market with mortgages now becoming more expensive and unavailable for both first time buyers and existing homeowners reluctant to break existing fixed rate mortgages.

“Utility cost inflation has also persisted throughout the period due to the continuing conflict in Ukraine, further exacerbating the current cost of living crisis and further reducing disposable income levels.”

He added: “In recognition of the rising living costs and to support our own colleagues, each Wain Homes employee received an additional cost of living contribution of £1,000 during the period.”

Wain Estates reported a strong year with revenue of £23m and a pre-tax profit of £2.1m.

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

Will added: “Wain Estates is now completely focused on strategic land opportunities. At the core of the business is a belief in creating places that enrich both the economy and the way people live and work. We also accept our responsibility to promote land in a way that has a positive social and environmental impact.

“This can be clearly seen in our work on the 1,665-acre Carrington Estate – a complex site that is one of the UK’s largest regeneration schemes.”

He said: “I am most proud of our continued efforts to improve our working environment, which led to a huge leap in our Employee Net Promoter Score. This is a measure of how colleagues feel about their employer – a score of over 30 is considered excellent. This year, the combined score across the group was 60.

“Our commitment to our customers saw us awarded 5-Star Builder status by the House Builders Federation for the first time and we received three NHBC Pride in the Job awards and one Seal of Excellence during the year – a huge achievement for the team.”