Low-cost housebuilder and strategic land specialist MJ Gleeson PLC (LON:GLE) said net reservations were up more than 40% over the last six months.
Ahead of today’s annual general meeting (AGM), the company released an upbeat statement in which chairman Dermot Gleeson said land continues to be available at sensible prices and the pipeline remains strong.
READ MJ Gleeson confident after record year for its strategic land division
Gleeson Homes has a pipeline of 12,490 plots with a gross development value of £1.5 billion, of which 7,253 plots are owned and 5,237 are conditionally purchased, Gleeson revealed.
Build activity has increased in recent months; Gleeson’s construction division currently has 62 active sites, compared with 58 at this time last year.
"The Government's Help to Buy scheme remains popular with 71% of our customers taking advantage of it so far this financial year while other buyers continue to be attracted by our own bespoke purchaser assistance packages,” Gleeson revealed.
Over the second half of 2018, the board expects Gleeson Homes to complete around 10% more houses than in the first half of the year.
"Gleeson Strategic Land continues to experience strong demand for consented land. Since the start of the financial year the division has completed the sale of three sites with planning permission for a total of 483 plots and is progressing sale negotiations on a further 7 sites,” the chairman’s statement revealed.
The division's land pipeline currently consists of 58 sites that have the potential to deliver roughly 21,789 plots. The portfolio includes nine sites that now have planning permission.
Gleeson said the board remains confident of meeting the market’s expectations with its results for the year to the end of June 2019,