Fifth consecutive year of record revenues and profits at Cala

Edinburgh-based housebuilder CALA Group has today announced record profits and new homes for the fifth year in a row following an update on trading for the twelve months to 30 June 2017.

The firm said strong trading performance mean it is on track to deliver its strategic growth plan with annual revenue exceeding £700 million for the first time (2016: £587.1 million).

Total home completions are up 46 per cent to 1,677 (2016: 1,151).

Private ASP stand at £497,000 (2016: £538,000), driven by a change in site mix and continued transition away from the market for homes over £1 million.

The group had 34 new sites (3,199 plots) contracted during the year with a potential gross development value (“GDV”) of £1.3 billion.

While planning permission was granted on 33 sites (3,156 plots) with a potential GDV of £1.2 billion.

Private revenue per site per week were up 6 per cent to £271,000 (2016: £254,000) with private sales per site per week of 0.56 (2016: 0.48).

And a strong level of forward private reservations (+26%) has provided the Group with good visibility as it heads into the new financial year.

Announcing the update, Cala called on the UK Government to urgently reform the planning system in order to achieve the Conservative’s manifesto pledge to build one million new homes by 2020.

Alan Brown, chief executive of CALA Group, said: “2017 has been another record year for the Group. Our performance for the twelve months to the end of June will see us deliver revenue in excess of £700m for the first time which is a big step towards our stated aim of delivering an annual capacity of up to 2,500 units and £1 billion of revenue by 2020.

“Following the General Election result, we now have a Conservative Government with a stated manifesto pledge to build one million new homes by 2020. However, if the UK is to stand any hope of delivering on this aim, urgent reform of the planning system is required to remove the obstructions that are preventing us and other developers from getting on and building the homes the country desperately needs.

“We enter the new financial year in a positive position with a strong level of forward private reservations that is actually ahead of our expectations. We continue to see good opportunities to buy high quality land in attractive locations at affordable prices and I remain confident in both our near term and longer term growth plans.”