MILLER Homes has highlighted “robust” demand for its houses in Scotland – despite “unprecedented political uncertainty” – as it reported a hike in first-half profits.

The Edinburgh-based builder, now owned by private equity giant Bridgepoint following a £655 million takeover in 2017, made an interim operating profit of £77.8m, 10 per cent more than for the opening half of 2018.

Miller said demand for quality new-build homes in “regional” markets such as Scotland continues to be high, noting that core and joint venture completions had increased by 13% over the period to 1,684 homes.

However, while the firm’s operating margin was maintained at 20%, its average selling price (AS) dipped to £243,000 from £248,000. Miller said the fall reflected the sale of 89 lower value units in a “legacy development”, adding that excluding those homes its ASP would have been £249,000.

Noting that the housebuilder is operating amid “unprecedented political uncertainty”, Miller said it has made plans for a no-deal Brexit. “We remain confident in the resilience of the UK regional housing markets in which we operate,” it said. “Customer demand has remained strong set against a backdrop of competitive mortgage rates but just as importantly an overwhelming need for many of our customers to acquire a new home. The majority of our housebuild materials (90 per cent) are manufactured in the UK; however a full review has been undertaken with contingency plans in place to ensure the impact on material supplies is mitigated.”

Miller said it invested £24m in new land in Scotland, on which it will build 528 homes, over the period. It is currently selling homes on 21 “live” sites across Scotland.