Persimmon sees profits soar

West Yorkshire managing director for Persimmon Homes Wayne Gradwell congratulated his team on what he called ‘the delivery of an outstanding business performance’.

He said: “Customer demand has certainly increased in the region and I’m extremely proud of the team for rising to the challenge and helping to deliver today’s excellent results.”

Persimmon legally completed 11,528 sales in 2013, an increase of 16 per cent over the previous year.

Full year revenues increased by 21 per cent over last year to reach £2.1bn.

The increase in revenues coupled with the improvement in margins resulted in underlying operating profits increasing by 50 per cent to £333m (2012: £223m as restated), and underlying profit before tax of £330m was 49 per cent stronger than last year (2012: £222m as restated).

Locally, the business increased its build rate, opening new developments in the Royston and Hipperholme area. In 2014, the business has already launched developments in Bradford, Whinmoor in Leeds, Morley and Rotherham and plans to open a further six this year in Castleford, Morley, Ossett, Wakefield, Wombell and Penistone.

Mr Gradwell added: “We have built our success on responding to local demand and delivering the types of houses needed to meet the requirements of local people.

“We continue to work closely with local authorities to gain planning within the region to ensure we continue to meet the high demand from potential buyers.”