Springfield Properties hails 1,000 homes milestone and says demand remains strong

Springfield Properties, the acquisitive Scottish housebuilder, has delivered more than 1,000 homes in a single year for the first time and booked record full-year results.

During its financial year to the end of May, the group acquired Inverness-based Tulloch Homes and, in June, struck a £46.3 million deal to buy the housebuilding business of Mactaggart & Mickel in a major consolidation move for the sector in Scotland.

The latest annual results show that revenue jumped by almost a fifth to £257.1m, while profit before tax lifted 10 per cent to £19.7m.

The record year saw the firm complete 1,242 properties, an increase of 27.6 per cent from the 973 completions in 2021 and marking the first time Springfield has delivered over 1,000 homes in a single year. It also delivered its first private rented sector (PRS) housing, further diversifying the group’s revenue stream.

The company declared a final dividend of 4.7p, making a total dividend for the year of 6.2p, compared with 5.75p a year earlier.

Chief executive Innes Smith said: “This year we achieved our highest ever annual profit and revenue with strong results across private, affordable and contract housing. I am pleased at how we managed the material and supply chain pressures facing our industry so that, while not immune, we were able to mitigate much of the impact.

“In keeping with our strategy, we significantly expanded our business with the acquisitions of Tulloch Homes and, post period, the Scottish housebuilding business of Mactaggart & Mickel - two high quality housebuilders with land in areas of strategic importance.”

The group, which was established in Moray and floated on the stock market in 2017, also gave an upbeat outlook despite a “challenging economic backdrop” as demand for new homes continues to outstrip supply.

Innes Smith is the chief executive of Scottish housebuilder Springfield Properties.

Smith added: “We entered the 2023 financial year delivering against a strong order book in private housing, reflecting sustained demand for the type of homes that we provide and the expansion of our business.

“We have excellent visibility over full-year private revenue forecasts based on homes delivered, missived and reserved. While the challenging economic backdrop will impact our affordable and PRS housing activity in the short term as we await decisions from the Scottish Government, we are on track to deliver another year of revenue and profit growth overall.

“Moreover, the fundamentals of the housing market in Scotland remain strong with high demand for homes across all tenures coupled with a national shortage in housing supply.”

In June, Springfield, which has undertaken a series of takeovers in recent years, said it was acquiring family owned Mactaggart & Mickel’s housebuilding division, including six live development sites and 11 future private and affordable sites across Scotland’s Central Belt.

Under this agreement, Springfield will deliver homes on these sites under Mactaggart & Mickel’s brand over the next three years.

The group also acquired Glasgow-based Mactaggart & Mickel’s timber systems operation and the companies entered into a strategic alliance that gives Springfield opportunities for future acquisitions of sites from Mactaggart’s strategic land portfolio across Scotland.