By Scott Wright
TULLOCH Homes Group, the Highlands-based housebuilder, has hailed a “strong” financial performance as it reported a 2.4 per cent increase in turnover to £51.1 million.
However, its profits dipped to £8.5m from £11.4m after accounts for the year before were boosted by exceptional gains totalling £3.5m, which included the sale of a commercial site in Inverness and a pension refund.
Privately-owned Tulloch, which is primarily focused on its home city of Inverness, though is also developing sites in Aberdeen and the central belt, boosted revenue as it completed 211 private homes and 35 affordable houses in the year ended June 30.
This summer it began work on a £90m development of 757 houses, including 200 affordable homes, on a 35-acre site at Ness Side, which adjoins the West Link Road in Inverness. It represents the firm’s largest-ever investment.
The company currently holds planning permission for 1,320 units, up from 1,237 at the same stage last year. Most of those units will be built in the Highlands.
Tulloch flags in the accounts that there is the potential to build a further 88 units on sites owned by the group, which it said are “zoned but currently without planning permission”.
And it has a further 474 under legal contract in the Highlands, which the company will acquire when planning permission is secured.
Chief executive George Fraser said: “We are very happy with the strong financial performance of the business over the last 12 months. The figures both in this period and over the last number of terms is a result of hard work from all our dedicated employees and wider supply chain, together with a quality land bank acquired over many years.
“We continue to require the acquisition of land as the raw material and precursor to the development and sale of private housing and that is an ongoing process.
“Looking forward, we expect the housing market to remain
relatively stable throughout the coming year and as a result anticipate unit numbers and volumes to be consistent with the current year.”
The accounts show that Tulloch employed an average of 158 staff per month over the period, compared with 161 the previous time. Mr Fraser said the company supports more than 600 jobs when its regular sub-contractors are taken into account.
Mr Fraser added: "Inverness, one of the UK’s fastest-growing cities, continues to sustain a strong demand for new housing, and developments like the dualling of the A9 from Perth and the A96 from Aberdeen mean this growth is likely to continue."
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