St. Modwen Homes delivered a 25% growth in sales volumes during its year ended 30 November 2019, having sold 1,060 new homes. The dedicated housebuilding business of St. Modwen Properties also grew margins to 14.8% (2018: 14.4%) which helped to deliver a 28% rise in operating profit to £40.1m (2018: £31.3m).
As demand continues for high-quality homes in more affordable, regional locations, St. Modwen Homes is now active across 21 outlets in England and South Wales. Current trading remains strong, with 34.0% of targeted full-year private sales forward sold (Feb 2019: 34.6%).
St. Modwen Homes has a pipeline in place to grow by up to 20% per year to 2021. There is opportunity to grow further, at a more normalised rate, beyond that, with clear steps identified to grow margins to c. 16-17% in the medium term.
To support existing and future growth the business created two regions during 2019, headed by Martin Install who was promoted to Managing Director, North and Jeremy Attwater, who joined the business in August as Managing Director, South.
St. Modwen Homes’ performance has been delivered alongside a continued focus on customer experience. As a result, the Home Builders Federation customer satisfaction rating is currently tracking at over 90%, equivalent to 5* status, and a net promoter score of 76 (2018: 63) was achieved during the year. Meanwhile, St. Modwen Homes is underpinned by effective health and safety practices and a strong culture which helped achieve ROSPA Gold and NHBC Safemark accreditation.
Dave Smith, Managing Director of St. Modwen Homes, commented: “For a housebuilding business that’s been going for less than a decade, we’re thrilled to have smashed through the 1,000-home mark for the first time in a single year. Looking ahead, we have a pipeline in place to further grow sales volumes and margins. At the same time, our relentless focus on customer experience and choice means 2020 will see more innovation, more user experiences and an even greater emphasis on environmental and social factors as we deliver for all our stakeholders.”