Fairview Holdings unveils profit of £23m

Fairview, the housebuilder, made a pre-tax profit of £23m last year, representing a profit margin of 8.2%, down a tad on the previous year’s margin of 8.7%.

Fairview’s latest figures cover the 12 months to 31 December 2007.

Turnover was ahead at £280m (figure in the previous year: £240m). Pre-tax profit in 2006 ran out at £21m.

The profit was held tight at £23m as a result of Fairview paying chunky interest and finance charges running to a total of £10m.

Fairview builds low- to medium-cost housing in London and the south-east of England.

At the end of the period it had shareholder funds of £160m while net debt stood at £80m.

New sites were acquired during the year to provide for over 800 units, half the number bought in the previous year.

The total landbank runs to 6,200 plots of which 4,000 have been given planning consent.

There might be pressures on housebuilders, but Fairview made a major push to pay its subcontractors and suppliers much more speedily: the group’s trade creditors represented just 23 days (figure in previous year: 40 days).

There was no dividend but Fairview’s directors enjoyed a total pay and pension pot of £4.2m.

The highest-paid individual might have struggled on his latest take-home pay of £720,000: last year he had a much fatter wadge running to £1.6m.

In 2006 he also had a further £220,000 by way of a pension contribution. Last year, by contrast, that figure was almost eliminated at just £8,000.