11 October 2017

Countryside Properties PLC

FY 2017 Trading Statement

Countryside Properties PLC (the "Company"), a leading UK home builder and urban regeneration partner, is today issuing a trading update for the year from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017. The Company will report its full year results on Wednesday 22 November 2017.

Operational Highlights

•     Completions up 28% to 3,389 homes (2016: 2,657 homes)

•     Net reservation rates¹ increased to 0.84 (2016: 0.78)

•     Open sales outlets up 9% at 47 (2016: 43)

•     Private average selling price ("ASP") reduced by 8% to £430,000 in line with expectations, with underlying sales price growth of 5%

•     Private forward order book up 8% at £242.4m (2016: £225.4m)

¹ Net reservations per open outlet per week

Partnerships

Our Partnerships division has delivered a strong performance with total completions up 17% at 2,192 homes versus 1,874 homes in 2016. The private ASP in our Partnerships division increased by 12% to £343,000, driven by strong price growth in outer London and regional cities.

Private completions were up 31% to 825 homes, Private Rental Sector ("PRS") units were broadly flat at 721 and affordable homes were up 27% to 646 in the period. We had 23 open sales outlets as at 30 September 2017 (2016: 18) with a further 23 sites under construction.

Housebuilding

Our Housebuilding division has also had an excellent year of growth with total completions up 53% at 1,197 homes (2016: 783), including 837 private homes, up 68% on the prior year. This performance demonstrates a step change in the scale of the business. Private ASP in Housebuilding reduced by 23% to £515,000 in the period, in line with our plans to reduce our exposure to higher end product but also as a result of slower sales rates at the higher end.

The increase in sales reservations and completions has led to several sales outlets closing earlier than anticipated. We had 24 open sales outlets at 30 September 2017, compared to 25 one year ago. However, we have a further 18 sites already under construction to ensure we increase the number of open selling outlets in FY18.  

Land and Planning

We had another very successful year in winning new business in the Partnerships division, underpinning our longer-term growth plans. In addition to those sites already in the land bank, including those with preferred bidder status, we secured 7,030 new plots in the period.  We now have 18,985 Partnerships plots under our control (2016: 14,504 plots). This represents approximately nine years' supply at current volumes and provides significant visibility.

In line with our strategy, we have maintained the land bank in our Housebuilding division and have acquired 2,896 plots on 16 sites during the period.  The Housebuilding land bank now stands at 19,826 plots (2016: 19,322 plots) of which 83% has been sourced strategically.

Outlook

Customer demand has remained strong for all tenures of homes throughout the year. Low interest rates and increased demand from first time buyers, supported by Help to Buy, continue to underpin private for sale homes, while strong demand for affordable and PRS further support our continued growth. We continue to successfully convert our strategic land bank to open more sites and, as a result, our Housebuilding business is on its way to optimal scale. This, combined with our excellent pipeline of Partnerships work and a record year end forward order book, gives us great confidence to deliver our medium-term plans. We are encouraged by the continued political support for all tenures of housing with the recently increased commitments to both Help to Buy and affordable housing and we feel we are ideally placed to benefit from these policies.

Ian Sutcliffe, Group Chief Executive, commented:

"We continue to see industry leading growth from our mixed tenure delivery and excellent returns from our innovative Partnerships business model. We have successfully positioned our business to meet the strongest areas of customer demand and are greatly encouraged by the continued and increased political support for mixed tenure housing. We see further opportunities for both our Partnerships and Housebuilding divisions and remain entirely confident in delivering our medium-term growth plans."

-     Ends -

There will be a conference call for analysts and investors held today at 0800hrs (BST): 

Standard dial in:                   +44 (0) 20 7192 8000

Dial in UK Free Call:            0800 376 7922

Dial in UK Local Call:           0844 571 8892

Conference ID:                     80363045

Enquiries:

Countryside Properties - 01277 260 000

Ian Sutcliffe - Group Chief Executive

Rebecca Worthington - Group Chief Financial Officer

Victoria Prior - Investor Relations & Strategy Director

Brunswick Group LLP - 020 7404 5959

Will Rowberry

Oliver Sherwood

About Countryside

Countryside is a leading UK home builder specialising in place making and urban regeneration. Our business is centred around two complementary divisions, Partnerships and Housebuilding. Our Partnerships division specialises in urban regeneration of public sector land, delivering private and affordable homes by partnering with local authorities and housing associations. The Housebuilding division, operating under Countryside and Millgate brands, develops sites that provide private and affordable housing, on land owned or controlled by the Group. Countryside was founded in 1958. It operates in locations across outer London, the South East, the North West of England and the West Midlands.

For further information, visit www.countryside-properties.com.