Housebuilder Redrow reported a jump in first half profit today, driven by a focus on family houses with higher selling prices and said it was set to continue its recovery following a strong start to the second half.
Redrow, one of the smaller London-listed housebuilders, reported a pretax profit of £15 million in the six months to end-December 2011, 80% higher than last year.
It is currently building schemes in Ealing and the West End with projects totalling £300m.
"While the outlook for the industry undoubtedly remains fragile there is increasing confidence in the housing market, including first time buyers," said Redrow chairman and founder Steve Morgan, who returned to the company in 2009 after a boardroom coup.
"This should be helped further when the availability of 95% mortgages kicks in under the NewBuy scheme at the end of March," added Morgan, who also owns Premier League soccer club Wolves.
Thomson Reuters data showed analysts expected the company to report a profit of £14 million.
Revenue rose 8% to £233 million, helped by increased private selling prices, up 19% in the first half to £204,000.
