In a trading statement covering the year ending September 30, Countryside said it completed 4,053 homes of which 1,454 were private, 1,691 were affordable and 908 were for the private rental sector.
The firm was active on a total of 124 sites as at September 30, 2020, of which 62 were open selling outlets.
Countryside said that, despite the national lockdown, private sales activity remained robust throughout the year. Its net reservation rate was 0.78 for the full year (2019: 0.84) which was “at the upper end” of the group's target range of 0.6 to 0.8, despite an elevated cancellation rate due to customer uncertainty caused by Covid-19.
The statement said: “The healthy levels of activity seen earlier in the year gradually returned as we reopened in June 2020 and since then we have seen a sustained period of demand during the summer as the market recovered from the lockdown."
Countryside ended the year delivering adjusted operating profit of approximately £54 million, in line with the Board's expectations. Private average selling price (ASP) was £364,000 (2019: £367,000) and the group’s total forward order book is up 17% at £1.4 billion (2019: £1.2 billion).
Its private forward order book stands at £528 million, 119% higher than the same period last year (2019: £241 million) “partly as a result of homes completing later than originally planned due to Covid-19. In addition, our affordable and PRS order book has been maintained at £0.9 billion despite our increased focus on delivering these tenures through the second half of the year.”
Iain McPherson, Countryside group chief executive, said: "We have seen significant disruption to our business this year as a result of Covid-19 and I would like to thank all our staff for the way they have adapted to new ways of working in these unprecedented times.
"We have been pleased by robust customer demand throughout the second half and our mixed tenure model continues to prove resilient, positioning us well in the current market. We are focused on delivering our enhanced growth plan, building on our strong pipeline of work and our relationships to further expand our geographical footprint. We will continue to work with our partners to deliver sustainable communities across the country."
The firm's housebuilding division delivered total completions of 840 homes (2019: 1,308 homes) in the year. Overall, its land bank stood at 25,042 plots on September 30 2020 (2019: 24,303).
“As we reposition the Housebuilding division to be more balanced around London and continue to manage our exposure to higher price points in the south-east, we have announced the merger of our Millgate business with our existing Housebuilding West region and the closure of the Millgate offices in Twyford as we combine the regional teams.”
The firm has signed two new framework agreements in Q4 including the expansion of its partnership with Sigma, alongside its new investment partner EQT Real Estate, to deliver 367 homes as the initial phase of a larger London PRS framework. In addition, Countryside signed a new PRS framework agreement with Goldman Sachs to deliver up to 1,000 PRS homes over the next three years. This will initially include 410 homes across three sites in Bicester.
