Henry Boot housebuilding arm closes in on target six months early

The housebuilding arm of Sheffield-based developer Henry Boot has secured nearly all of its projected sales for the entire calendar year, the firm said today, with the business also seeing “buoyant” demand for its land.

In a trading update, the developer and contractor said that Stonebridge Homes had sold 93% of the 200 homes targeted for 2022 already, with the housing market continuing to experience “high demand” which had allowed rising sales values to offset cost inflation.

The firm also said that “buoyant demand” from housebuilders for its developments sites had seen its land trading division, Hallam Land Management, sell 3,477 plots already, including a major 2,170-plot scheme in Didcot to Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon.

Overall, the firm, which earlier this year year saw pre-tax profit double to £35.6m as it recovered from the covid-hit 2020 financial year, said it is trading in line with expectations. It said it expected trading to be weighted significantly in favour of the first half of the financial year in 2022.

Tim Roberts, chief executive, said the firm had seen a “busy and successful” start to the year. “While the challenges of ongoing supply constraints, cost inflation and increasing economic uncertainty cannot be ignored, we believe we remain well placed for the rest of the year, with strong forward sales across all our business lines, a continued pipeline of opportunities for us to meet our strategic growth ambitions and, as ever, a robust financial position,” he said.