PROGRESS

Housebuilder Avant Homes is examining investment opportunities north of the Border after announcing record fullyear revenues.

The business, which has a strong footprint in the Central Belt via its Scottish base in Stirling, said revenues in the year to 27 April reached £447 million. This marked a year-onyear jump of more than a fifth and was driven by fast growth in completions and a continued increase in the private average selling price.

Completions were up by 16 per cent to 1,903, while the private average selling price reached £257,000, with the jump from £242,000 mainly attributed to site and unit mix changes.

Chief executive Colin Lewis told The Scotsman that the results were “solid”, and he highlighted that the group has entered the new financial year with 69 per cent of firsthalf volumes already secured.

He commented: “The last 12 months have been another landmark period for Avant and we are reaping the rewards of our strategy to build homes that offer some-

0 Avant is targeting further geographic expansion to meet new targets

CEO COLIN LEWIS thing different to UK buyers.” The firm, which also operates in the north east of England, Yorkshire and the Midlands, said the northern housing market remains “strong”.

Looking specifically at the Central Belt, where it has 18 outlets, he said this is proving resilient, with Edinburgh showing robust appeal and Avant seeing many opportunities in Glasgow. Its overall total outlets at the end of April were up 42 per cent, at 71, compared to 50 12 months previously.

The firm also said it is still on track to deliver growth targets originally set in 2015 of becoming a £500m-turnover, 2,000unit operation by the end of 2018, a year ahead of schedule.

Additionally, its five-year strategy to double output to 4,000 homes a year by 2023 is now in place. To achieve this, the group will complete the scaling-up of its existing operating regions, while continuing to invest in land and target further geographic expansion after the launch of a fifth operating region – covering South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and

“The last 12 months have been another landmark period for Avant and we are reaping the rewards of our strategy”