Crest Nicholson records 40% rise in pre-tax profits

Crest NicholsonCrest Nicholson, a leading home builder in the UK, has said that it has recorded as strong 40 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £86.8 million.

The company sold 2172 houses in the 12 months to October, 2013, which is 15 per cent higher than the previous year. Crest Nicholson utilised the government's schemes to boost business as it took 600 reservations under the 'Help to Buy' scheme. The company was taken private by Sir Tom Hunter and Bank of Scotland but has been listed since one year.

It recorded a profit of £86.8m for the 12 months after turnover rose 29 per cent to £525.7 million amid a wide recovery in the UK housing market. Crest will pay a dividend of 6.5p a share in order to boost investments.

Chief executive Stephen Stone said, "These are an excellent set of results, which cap an exciting year for Crest Nicholson, in which the business returned to the public markets."

The country's housing sector has recorded growth due to supportive schemes from the government. Demand for housing units remained much higher than availability and this pushed up prices across the UK including in southern England.