Upmarket home builder Cala Group on Tuesday issued a trading update for the 12 months to June 30 — and said it was on track to deliver annual revenue of more than £700 million for the first time, up from £587.1 million in the previous year.
However the Edinburgh-based firm warned that urgent reform of the UK 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.”
Cala — whose main shareholders are Legal & General and Patron Capital — said its total home completions rose 46% to 1,677 and its private average selling price fell to £497,000 “driven by a change in site mix and continued transition away from the market for homes over £1 million.”
It said 34 new sites involving 3,199 plots were contracted during the year with a potential gross development value (GDV) of £1.3 billion.
Cala Group CEO Alan Brown 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 £700 million 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.”