BELLWAY says it is benefiting from a “bit a of a spring bounce” as house buyers return to the market after the concerns about Government spending cuts.
The Newcastle builder published robust interim figures for the six months to the end of January yesterday but they do not include the pick-up experienced since the start of the year which is expected to help boost this year’s profits by a third.
Bellway beat its own first half targets and reported a 13% increase in turnover from £360.8m to £407.9m, helped by a £10.7m land sale in Essex. Pre-tax profits rose by more than a quarter to £24m from £19m.
Chief executive John Watson said: “The rates have improved since before Christmas. We’re seeing a bit of a spring bounce. Before Christmas, there was the bad weather and there was a lot going on, like the Government’s spending review.”
The average Bellway home is now selling for £168,428 compared with £155,871 a year ago and the company sold 2,332 homes in the six months to the end of January, up from 2,247.
The return to traditional spring selling patterns was apparent in the reservation figures. The average of 80 reservations a week in the six months to the end of January jumped to 119 a week from February 1 to March 13. The order book also rose by 10% to £479.2m by the middle of this month.
