Profits promotion

The 0.5 per cent cut in interest rates last week was welcomed by housebuilder Westbury. "It will give purchasers more confidence," said Colin Cole, deputy finance director, who now expected Westbury to achieve a total build of 4,400 houses this year.

Cole was speaking after Westbury announced its interim results (six months to 31 August). Pre-tax profit jumped ahead strongly to £18 million (£14 million), the figure benefiting from Westbury's of housebuilder John Maunders earlier in the year. Westbury's turnover climbed to £190 million (£140 million).

Some £40 million of Westbury's latest turnover came from the former John Maunders business, said Cole. "That purchase has taken us up from seven to eight regions," he said. "It is now the basis of our north west division, centred in Manchester."

Maunders is the first plc that Westbury has acquired, a move which cost £55 million. Westbury's largest purchase is still the £61 million spent on the acquisition of Clarke Homes, BICC's former housebuilding division. Westbury has become the UK's sixth largest housebuilder.

"Wimpey is the largest housebuilder, with 12,000 properties a year," said Cole. "It is not our intention to beat that. Our aspiration is to be the most efficient."

Operating margins rose to 12.3 per cent (11.3 per cent in the same period last year). "We had been targeting 12 per cent for some while. It's the first time we've been at this level and it means we have now joined the premier league," said Cole.

The housebuilding industry's average margin stands at 11 per cent, Cole reported: "In this climate, when growth is flat, our figure of 12 per cent is good."

On a like-for-like basis, Westbury's house prices had risen by just 1-2 per cent in the six-month period. Actual prices, however, were 8 per cent ahead at £90,000 as a result of building more larger properties.