Housebuilder invests £23m in new land during six month period
The Yorkshire region of national housebuilder Miller Homes invested £23m in new land – providing 319 homes – in the last six months.
Miller Homes, which has its Yorkshire head office in Wakefield and employs 116 people in the region, today published its results for the six month period ended 30 June 2019.
The region has nine live developments and has invested £23m in new land.
Nationally, the housebuilder reported that revenue for the half year period was 10% ahead of 2018 at £389.2m (H1 2018: £355.2m). It said this reflected a combination of a 15% increase in core completions to 1,600 units (H1 2018: 1,393 units) offset by a 2% decrease in average selling price to £243,000 (H1 2018: £248,000) and lower land sale revenues.
The business also reported a 13% increase in core and joint venture completions to 1,684 homes (H1 2018: 1,493 homes). It also saw a 10% increase in operating profit to £77.8m (H1 2018: £71m).
Its forward sales stand at record levels of £368m – 7% ahead of last year
Miller Homes also reported a 5% increase in owned landbank to 9,668 plots (Dec 2018: 9,174 plots) further supported by 3,308 controlled plots (Dec 2018: 3,350 plots) resulting in an overall consented landbank of 12,976 plots (4.1 years’ supply).
Chris Endsor, Chief Executive, said:“Miller Homes has again achieved significant levels of growth, with volumes up 13% and operating profit 10% ahead in the first half of 2019. To have delivered an operating margin of 20% demonstrates the resilience of our regional markets and the Group’s disciplined approach to land buying and cost control.
“Customer demand has remained strong set against a backdrop of competitive mortgage rates but just as importantly an overwhelming need for many of our customers to acquire a new home.
“As a further sign of our confidence in our regional markets, we invested significantly in land in the period, acquiring 12 sites at a cost of £94m.
“Our regional proposition, supported by significant land investment, excellent build quality and customer service delivered by a highly engaged workforce mean that we are on track to achieve 4,000 homes by 2021.”
