housebuilder Cala Group has announced record profits and significant land investment to provide a platform for further growth.
The Edinburgh-based group’s total revenue for the year to June was up 22% to £294.2 million, and it is on course to deliver a three-fold increase by 2016.
Pre-tax profit was up 117% to £27.3m, and gross margin from house sales for the year was up to 22.7%.
Chief executive Alan Brown said: “This year has been a transformational period for Cala, with our excellent financial performance delivering record profits once again.
“Following another year of significant investment in our land bank and our acquisition of Banner Homes in March, Cala is now an established top-10 UK housebuilder by revenue.”
He said Cala’s development locations are of high quality, and no less than 81% of the group’s projected profit in the next four years will be from sites already owned, contracted or with deal terms agreed. This will provide the group with an excellent platform and a high level of visibility.
Mr Brown added: “We have entered the new financial year in a very positive position thanks to strong forward sales and with a stable market backdrop.
“I am very excited about Cala’s prospects for the year ahead, which will deliver our first year of significant volume growth since the implementation of our new growth strategy.”
The group reported a significant investment in land bank, particularly in south-east England, and increased financial firepower through the backing of investment partners Patron and Legal & General.
The acquisition of luxury developer Banner Homes in a £200m deal accelerated expansion plans, and Cala now has eight regional operating areas five in England and three in Scotland.
The firm expects to boost sales at the enlarged group to around £500m in the current financial year as earnings continue to be boosted by higher average selling prices.
The company which returned to profit in 2011 after successive losses during the recession has developed several sites in Tayside and Fife, and one of its current projects is St Mary’s Gardens at Kinnoull Hill in Perth.
Mr Brown said that although the group is now heavily involved in developing sites in England, Scotland its spiritual home and Cala is looking for significant growth north as well as south of the border.
“The original Aberdeen business has been floated off and it is in Edinburgh, where the company has its headquarters, that we will see a lot of further growth as well as in the west of Scotland,” he said.
Cala is the latest housebuilder to report a good year as conditions for the industry improve.