Springfield lays plans for 3,000 Highlands homes after Inverness acquisition

Springfield Properties has unveiled plans to build thousands of homes after making its first land acquisition in Inverness.

Chief executive Innes Smith said adding an Inverness site to the Springfield portfolio was the 'next step for growth'. Picture: Stuart Wallace

The Scottish housebuilder said it is considering plans for around 3,000 new homes across a number of developments in and around Inverness and Highland towns and villages including Ardersier, Drumnadrochit, Dornoch and Beauly.

This comes after Springfield announced the purchase of a site at Easterfield Farm in Inverness – its first in the Highland city – adding to other land banks recently secured in surrounding areas.

The 14-acre Easterfield development will support approximately 90 properties, comprising a mix of private and affordable homes, with Springfield anticipating it will begin making sales at the site before the end of the year.

The group, which is quoted on London’s junior Alternative Investment Market, said it is establishing a “strong foothold” in the Highlands, branching out from its existing developments in other cities and towns across Scotland.

Chief executive Innes Smith said: “We expect to start selling homes at Easterfield later this year.

“The development, which is near to Drummossie Hotel, the University of the Highlands and Islands, Inshes Retail Park and just 15 minutes from Inverness Airport, will include of mix of private and affordable high-quality homes.

“Springfield started as a small developer in Moray. We now have three great brands operating across Scotland, have listed on Aim and have 750 employees and hundreds of sub-contractors building around 1,000 homes this year.

“In recent years, we’ve developed a stronger presence in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we are already highly active in Dundee and Perth.

“Now we are in a position to include Inverness in our portfolio, which is the next step for our growth.”

In an update to the market in July, the housebuilder flagged “significant growth” for the year to 31 May on the back of a buoyant market and key acquisitions.

It pointed to significant progress across its private and affordable housing divisions, driven by a “strong” Scottish property market, and praised the contributions of Livingston-based Walker Group, which it acquired in February, and Dawn Homes, which was acquired in May 2018.

Springfield, led by executive chairman and grandson of the company founder Sandy Adam, is scheduled to announce full-year results next week.

It said: “The group expects to report results for the full-year 2018/19 in line with market expectations… the board of directors remains confident that the group will continue to achieve sustained growth.”