Glenveagh Properties PLC (LON:GLV) chief executive Justin Bickle hailed a “very productive” 12 months as the Irish homebuilder gave investors a trading update ahead of its 2018 results, due for release in March.
The company said it is ahead of schedule as it delivers on the promises made during its 2017 stock market IPO – namely its strategy to acquire land, build houses and sell them.
It highlighted revenue of €84mln for the twelve months ended 31 December, with 275 house sales described as a strong performance and some 10% ahead of prior guidance.
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Glenveagh similarly noted an average selling price of €287,000, noting a strong performance in its ‘starter homes’ scheme. The company anticipates gross margin of around 18% for the year.
It also noted its latest land acquisition, announced today, which saw the group pick up a substantial portion of land in County Cork from NAMA (the government-backed unit which was created in the wake of the financial crisis to hold distressed property assets).
The latest land package is located in Douglas, a suburb of Cork City, and it spans 43 which would allow for around 500 new housing units.
In all, the company ’s land-bank would now comprise space for around 11,850 housing units, and, it highlights that the land was largely acquired ‘off-market’ at attractive rates.
Glenveagh is presently building on fourteen sites across Ireland which, according to the company, means that all sites needed to deliver its 2019 target of 725 new homes are open.
It is presently selling homes from a total of eight sites and three additional starter homes sites will go live in the first half of this year.
"The past 12 months have been very productive as we set out to create a volume homebuilder for the Irish market,” Justin Bickle said.
“We have carefully assembled a multi-year land bank for building, got off to a strong start in opening our sites and constructing houses and apartments, and grown our operations consistent with our business plan and longer-term financial targets.
“I would like to pay tribute to all our staff and industry partners for their hard work and dedication in helping us deliver on our IPO promises and thank each of our customers in helping us achieve 275 sales during 2018.”