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Countryside Properties enjoys "very strong" demand from local authorities

Published: 08:33 23 Jan 2020 GMT

Countryside Properties -
An artist's impression of Countryside's Beam Park development in Dagenham

Countryside Properties PLC’s (LON:CSP) forward order book continued to swell in the final three months of 2019 as it reported strong trading in both private housing, affordable homes and for the private rented sector (PRS).

The order book ended December at a record £1.6bn, up 34% over what was the first quarter of its new financial year and up 65% from the same time a year before.

READ: Countryside Properties reports record results but shares wobble as CEO announces retirement

Private forward orders were up 46% to £314mln, while demand for affordable and PRS homes was said to have “remained robust”.

The net reservation averaged 0.81 per open outlet, down from 0.84% last year but up 29% on the first quarter a year earlier amid “a strong market”.

The company was active on a total of 142 sites versus 129 a year before, of which 59 on average were open and selling in the quarter, and anticipates further growth in the number of open outlets in the second quarter.

Housebuilding completions reached 1,097 during the quarter, flat year-on-year, while the private average selling price was down by £1,000 to £394,000.

The Partnerships division, which works with local authorities and housing associations, delivered the majority of the completions, at 855, in line with the prior year despite some delayed site starts but with a “very strong quarter for new business” as it secured 4,165 plots, including in Waltham Forest, Salford and in newly established regions.

“We continue to see strong customer demand across both divisions for all tenures of homes,” Countryside said.

It added: “With some of the political uncertainty now having eased and sales levels in line with expectations for this point in the year, we remain on track to deliver our full year plans.”

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