MJ GLEESON PLC

('Gleeson' or 'the Group')

TRADING UPDATE

MJ Gleeson plc (GLE.L), the urban regeneration and strategic land specialist, today issues the following trading update ahead of its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2014, which will be announced on Wednesday 25^th February 2015. 

The Group continues to trade well and expects profits for H1 2015 to show a strong increase over H1 2014.

Gleeson Homes

Market conditions remain healthy, with strong customer demand in all of our regions.  

We continued to make strong progress in the period, selling 321 homes, an increase of 24% on the previous year's total of 258. 

The current forward order book of 299 units is an increase of 23% over the previous year's figure of 240 and, as previously announced, the Board expects to record an increase in completions in the year to 30 June 2015 of not less than 25% against the prior year total of 561 units.

The business currently has 39 active sites, compared with 33 in the corresponding period.  

The land pipeline of owned and conditionally purchased plots at 31 December 2014 increased by 30% compared to the prior year, totalling 5,267 plots, of which 1,588 plots have been purchased subject to planning permission.  In addition, there are a further 1,900 plots which are in the pipeline to be acquired.

Gleeson Strategic Land

During the period we sold a 15 acre site with planning permission for 51 plots, along with the sale of 1.5 acres of commercial land from our site in Thanet, Kent.

There are currently eight sites in the portfolio with planning permission or a resolution to grant permission.  Six of these sites, which will deliver 672 plots, are being progressed for sale in the current financial year.

In addition, there are 13 sites where the business is currently awaiting either the determination of a planning application or the outcome of a planning appeal. It may also be possible to sell a number of these sites in the current financial year.

Jolyon Harrison, Chief Executive, commented:

"The first half performance of both Gleeson Homes and Gleeson Strategic Land has been encouraging as we continue to benefit from our focussed, twin track strategy of providing low cost family homes in the North of England, and strategic land promotion in the South.  We expect to report a result for the full year in line with current expectations."

9 January 2015

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Notes to Editors

MJ Gleeson plc operates in the house building sector through the following business units: Gleeson Homes, which focuses on estate regeneration and housing development on brownfield land in the North of England; and Gleeson Strategic Land, which purchases options over land in the South of England with the objective of enhancing the value of the site concerned by securing residential planning permission.