Countryside Properties completions up, order book at record level

Countryside Properties reported a jump in first-half completions as the sales rate rose, its private forward order book reached a record level and the group sounded an upbeat note on its outlook.

In a trading update for the six months to the end of March, the company said completions were up 31% to 1,437 homes, while the sale rates increased to 0.89 from 0.79 in the first half of 2016.

The private average selling price fell 13% to £440,000, but with underlying sales price growth of 6%.

Meanwhile, the company's private forward order book surged 69% to a record £347.1m.

In the Partnerships division, the land bank was up 1,210 plots to 16,124 plots, with total completions up 23% to 987 homes. The private average selling price in the division rose 24% to £365,000, driven by growth in Greater London and improved trading in Manchester and Liverpool.

In the Housebuilding unit, total completions were up 54% to 450 homes, while the private average selling price fell 31% to £540,000, in line with the group's plans to reduce its exposure to higher end product.

Countryside said customer demand, government support and good mortgage availability have underpinned first-half growth, a trend that looks set to continue for the remainder of the year.

Chief executive Ian Sutcliffe said: "We have seen excellent growth in both divisions during the first six months of the year. Sales rates, values and outlet openings have exceeded our expectations, leading to the strong growth in completions and a record forward order book.

"We look forward to continuing our sector leading growth trajectory and remain confident of making further progress on our medium-term targets as laid out at our IPO just over a year ago."