In a trading update for the first six months of its financial year, the Elgin-based group said it intends to declare a dividend for the first half of its financial year, with revenue and profit set to grow in line with expectations.

Springfield said it entered the new financial year with a strong and established pipeline and was experiencing sustained demand underpinned by the continued requirement for more homes in Scotland for private individuals and across all tenures in the affordable and social housing sector.

During the first six months, this demand contributed to increased revenue from the private housing and affordable divisions compared to the prior year.

Springfield also progressed the development of existing sites, receiving planning consent on two private housing sites and two affordable sites, and continued to advance the development of its ‘village’ development sites near Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Elgin and Perth.

The group’s acquisition of Dawn Homes at the end of the previous financial year “significantly expanded” its land bank in size and took in a new region in the West of Scotland as well as providing an established supply chain.

On further increasing its land bank, Springfield said it “continues to evaluate opportunities to acquire land that the group considers attractive and complementary”. In July, the group secured approximately 400 acres of zoned land in West Lothian to develop a 1,900-home site. 

Overall, the group said it expects to report revenue and profit growth for the first half of 2018/19 in line with management’s expectations and intends to declare an interim dividend for the period.

“Demand for housing continues to outstrip supply and there is ongoing support from the Scottish Government for developing affordable housing,” it said.

Innes Smith, chief executive officer of Springfield, said: “We are pleased to report sustained revenue growth across all of our business units and good progress with existing sites as well as securing new sites. Our Dawn Homes acquisition has proved very successful and the business is performing strongly.

“None of this would have been possible without the skill and hard work of our employees for which we thank them, and we are pleased that our initiatives for employee engagement were recently recognised at the ProShare Awards, where we received the Best New Share Plan award. As a result, with an able team, a solid pipeline and sustained demand for housing in Scotland, we look to the future with confidence.”

The group will provide further details at the time of its interim results announcement in February 2019.