Urban&Civic lifts first-half profit and net-asset value

Urban&Civic has improved its first-half pretax profit and bumped up its net asset value per share and dividend as it points to strong continuing momentum in the business.

The property development and investment company's six-month pretax profit was £8.4m, up 44% on the year-ago same period's £5.8m. EPRA net asset value was £390.8m, from £371.1m, which boiled down to 270.9p a share, from a restated 258.2p.

The result was helped by lower administrative expenses and a £2.4m share of after-tax profits from a joint venture, from £0.7m a year earlier. Revenue was £29.5m, from £12.2m. Interim dividend was 1.1p a share, up 10%.

"Purchasing power in Middle England and the continuation of Help to Buy are much bigger factors for Urban&Civic than Brexit," said chief executive Nigel Hugill, also noting the strong continuing momentum in the business.

"Our best barometer is to count the number of diggers on our sites. More than 20 reservations for our JV with Hopkins Homes at Alconbury in the four weeks since launch and with the show house not yet complete is testimony to the strength of demand and the quality of living environments that we are creating," he added.

"The housebuilders are responding accordingly; three land parcels are contracted with a further four expected to close shortly, totalling more than 1,250 homes. With site momentum established, we can now also start housebuilding on our own account bringing improved margin capture and additional absorption."