Stonebond doubles its turnover as profits increase to £8.1m

Essex-based housebuilder Stonebond has increased its annual turnover by 51% according to its latest financial results.

The firm, led by the sons of Countryside’s Alan Cherry, recorded an annual turnover of £98.7m, up from £65.2m the previous year.

In accounts made up to 31 October 2022, Stonebound reported an operating profit of £8.1m, a 10% increase on the £6.1m operating profit it reported last year.

Partnerships accounted for almost two-thirds of its revenue in this financial year, having switched to a partnerships model in early 2022.

Stonebond delivered 264 homes, an increase in volume of 34%, and recorded a return on capital employed – a measure of capital efficiency – of 27.4%.

It spent £41.7m on construction during this financial period, and holds net assets of £49.5m.

“Despite the various challenges impacting the housing market over the past year, we have built more homes, delivered growth in our key metrics and maintained a robust balance sheet,” Stonebond’s executive board wrote in its review.

“The strong performance during the year, and significant improvement from last year, is underpinned by our partnership-led strategy delivering more affordable homes with our housing association and Build-to-Rent partners, whilst also continuing to deliver private sales in resilient locations.”

Partnerships generated 58% of the group’s revenue in this financial year, and the firm aims to increase that to 70% by 2025.

>>See also: Modular developer TopHat Communities falls to £5.1m loss

Stonebond currently has a pipeline of 1,488 plots, up from 920 plots the previous year. It said a further 1,428 plots were awaiting exchange of contracts. 

Last year, the firm more than doubled its employee headcount to 120. It has six regional offices and its co-chairman have previously said they are expanding the business ahead of a potential stock market listing.

Set up by Alan Cherry 40 years ago as a side venture to Countryside, an expansion of Stonebond has been led by the Cherry brothers, Graham and Richard Cherry, since they departed Countryside in 2019. 

In 2021, the Cherrys appointed former Countryside group financial controller Andrew Cornelius as chief executive of Stonebond to help oversee the expansion of the business.