Bovis latest builder to enjoy ‘Help to Buy’ boost

A BUOYANT property market helped Bovis Homes to post soaring first-half profits as the housebuilder revealed that even the heatwave had failed to melt demand.

Greater confidence and improved access to mortgages, together with the UK government’s Help to Buy scheme, have boosted the sector, Bovis said.

The upturn delivered pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year up 19 per cent to £18.6 million and the group said the positive trend had even continued into recent weeks at a time when the property market traditionally slows down.

Early weeks of the third quarter had seen “good sales rates and a less pronounced summer lull in reservations than in previous years” amid a robust trading environment and a growing sense of confidence in the market, the company said.

In the first half, excluding land sales, operating profits were up 50 per cent on the same period last year to £20.4m, amid higher sales volumes, stronger profit margins and a rise in market prices of up to 2 per cent.

Chief executive David Ritchie said: “This improvement has been further assisted by the positive effect of stronger home buyer sentiment, supported by the Help to Buy scheme launched in April.”

Kent-based Bovis raised its interim dividend by 33 per cent to 4p.