HOUSEBUILDER Stewart Milne Homes has doubled sales in North West England amid moves to reduce its reliance on the core Aberdeen area market which has been hit hard by the fall out from the downturn in the North Sea.
Owned by entrepreneur Stewart Milne, the business sold 268 homes with a total value of £60 million in North West England last year compared with 134 homes in the preceding period.
The company said it has been increasing investment in new sites in Lancashire and Cheshire and in Scotland’s Central Belt to support growth in response to the downturn in the North East market in which it made its name.
Chief executive Glenn Allison said: “In common with all house-builders in the North-east, we have faced a very difficult period in our local market where the downturn, fuelled by the sharp drop in oil price, has had a major impact on consumer confidence.”
He added: “This is however starting to improve with sales rates gradually picking up.”
Highlighting the strength of the housing market in North West England, Mr Allison said the area is a key growth market for Stewart Milne. The group has set ambitious growth targets for its business in the area.
It expects to double annual sales volumes to 500 over the next three years.
The North West England arm has plans for five new developments over the next 12 months. These will involve it constructing 447 new homes.
Mr Allison said the firm will work to further increase its volume output through the acquisition of larger sites in prime residential locations.
The division has made an encouraging start to 2018. It aims to increase sales volumes by 11 per cent to 300 in the next financial year.
The latest accounts filed by Stewart Milne Group show it lost £26.1m in the year to 30 June 2016, after making £7.8m profit in the preceding year. Turnover fell to £209.2m from £241.4m.
In the strategic report signed on 29 March, directors noted the group had secured an extended facility with Bank of Scotland in September 2016.
They said this would support continued growth of the business, primarily in the Central Scotland and North West England markets, in which conditions were improving and demand for quality homes was increasing.
The group sold 790 homes in 2017 and around 700 in 2016.
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