Hike helped by one third rise in number of plots housebuilder sold

Dermot

Housebuilder and developer MJ Gleeson saw pre-tax profit jump nearly a fifth in the six months to December last year.

The firm said revenue from its housing business increased by 35% to 拢74m helped by a one third rise in the number of plots it sold, which jumped from 451 to 593. Operating margins rose from 15.5% to 16.7%.

Gleeson, which develops and builds on brownfield land in northern England, opened a new pilot office in Ashington, Northumberland, during the period.

Its Strategic Land business concentrates on getting sites, including green field schemes in southern England, planning permission and the firm said the number with planning was down slightly from 13 for the same period in 2016 to 11. It said operating profit at this part of the business fell from 拢4m to 拢2.3m.

Gleeson chairman, Dermot Gleeson (pictured), who marks 25 years in the role next year, said: 鈥淟and remains available to us at sensible prices and demand for our homes amongst our customer base remains strong [while] demand for consented sites remains strong from both large and medium sized developers.鈥�

Pre-tax profit at the group rose 19.1% to 拢13.7m in the half year to 31 December.