A trading update by the upmarket home builder revealed that after several years of planned stable volumes, the full year to 30 June 2015 (FY15) represents the first year of significant volume increase as part of the Group’s growth plans.

The Group is already 90 per cent sold for FY15 with four months of the financial year to go. The average selling price (ASP) of net private reservations increased by 27 per cent from £423,000 to £537,000, mainly due to site mix, while the average number of sales outlets went up from 25 to 38.

38 new sites (1,478 plots) were contracted during the period with a potential gross development value (GDV) of £564m and a gross margin in excess of 23 per cent.

Planning permission was granted on 33 sites (938 plots) with a potential GDV of £417m.

CALA’s controlled land bank now stands at over 13,400 plots with a potential GDV of £5.0 billion.

Alan Brown, chief executive of CALA Group, said: “After an encouraging first half, trading since the start of 2015 has been ahead of expectation. We have seen increased site visitor numbers across our eight operating regions alongside a significant increase in online enquiries since the launch of our new website in December, as the improved availability of record low mortgage rates, combined with the strength of the UK economy and ongoing shortage of housing supply, continue to boost demand.

“We are continuing to see a sustainable level of sales price inflation across all of our regions while our land teams continue to secure a steady supply of high quality sites in desirable locations at or above our target hurdle rates, providing confidence that we can grow our future volumes substantially.

“Overall, the Group has started the current year with strong momentum and we are well placed to deliver our first year of significant volume uplift as part of the Group’s ongoing growth strategy.”