Group announces 47% boost in reservations and expects focus on family housing to lead to further price hikes

Redrow has announced a 47% rise in net private reservations on the same period last year as 2009 house sales stablise.

The group said that in the first 18 weeks of the financial year, net private reservations averaged 45 homes per week which means prices are ahead of expectations with private reservations averaging 拢149,000. The group added that it is to focus now on family housing, a move it expects to boost average selling prices further.

The group added it believed it was well placed to enter 2010: In an interim management statement it said: "The underlying housing market remains influenced by the availability of mortgage finance and consumer confidence generally, but we enter 2010 well placed to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead."

In terms of its debt, the group said that following the receipt of the rights issue it announced in September to raise 拢150m and the acquisition of Harrow Estates, net debt will stand at around 拢65m.

It said: 鈥淲ith the underlying cash we expect to generate from our existing working capital and the proceeds from the rights issue, we are well placed to pursue opportunities in the land market. We anticipate that the land market will gradually return to more normal levels of activity over the next 12-18 months with increasing numbers of opportunities emerging.鈥�

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