SPRINGFIELD Properties, the Elgin-based housebuilder, has signalled plans to acquire 6000 plots around Scotland amid continuing signs of recovery in the housing market.

The company has secured a £17.5 million finance package from Bank of Scotland to boost its ambitions for growth.

Springfield is aiming to deliver more than 1800 new homes to owners in the next three years. It said the support from the bank will allow it to move projects to the planning stage, and help to cover the cost of surveys, master plans and consultancy reports.

The company is looking to develop plots for 1500 homes in Aviemore and 3000 in Perth, and is also considering sites in Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Managing director Innes Smith said: "The general feeling is that Bank of Scotland seem to be back in business. They seem to be willing to invest in land.

"They have increased their facility which gives us an opportunity to invest in market capital and new sites and make sure we get sites through to planning."

Springfield's new deal with Bank of Scotland comes as it reports sales running 59% ahead of the same period last year. With the business expecting the growth to continue into next year, it is targeting an increase in turnover to beyond £75m in 2014.

Springfield's latest accounts at Companies House show the housebuilder made pre-tax profits of £3.46m on turnover of £46.6m in the year ended May 31, 2013.

This compared with profits of £3.94m on turnover of £53.5m the year before.

In the last year the firm, which directly employs 300 staff, has handed over 300 homes. It is currently working across 27 sites.

Mr Smith said Springfield has been able to grow throughout the downturn by keeping bank debt to a minimum and "operating the business sensibly". He also said it has won market share by offering customers greater choice.

Mr Smith revealed the firm has been inspired by car manufacturers, which allow customers to specify features such as the colour and interior design of their cars.

He said: "We want to give extra choice to the customer and we want to build the house the customer wants, not the one the builder wants to build.

"We have had really strong reservations on the back of that - it seems to be what the customers want."

On the wider housing sector, he hopes government-backed schemes like Funding for Lending and Help to Buy, which is due to launch in Scotland soon, will stimulate the market by making it easier for more first-time buyers to climb on to the property ladder.

He insisted the revival of the construction industry was essential to the UK's economic prospects. Mr Smith said: "Construction is a huge part of the British economy so it has to get going. The banks have to stimulate to get the economy moving again. There are a lot of add-on benefits from house building."

Graham Fiddes, relationship director at Bank of Scotland, described Springfield, which formed in 1956, as an "exceptional business".

Mr Fiddes said: "We are pleased to be able to offer the company a financial solution, which meets the individual and specialist needs of the business based on the market in which they operate."