Housebuilder Countryside Partnerships swings to a loss

The housebuilder – formerly Countryside Properties – posted a pre-tax loss for the six months ended March 31 of £181.5 million, from a pre-tax profit the year before of £38.8m. Revenue fell to £602.2m, from £661m a year prior.

The company, which has its regional office in Wolverhampton, attributed the changes to higher sales costs and administrative expenses, coupled with an unusually strong comparative period in the first half of fiscal 2021, which had benefited from deferrals due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Countryside said its forward order book stood at £1.82 billion, rising 19 per cent since the start of the year, and backed its prior guidance of an adjusted operating profit for fiscal 2022 of around £150m, down from £167.3m in fiscal 2021.

Chairman John Martin said: "We have taken significant steps to improve operational performance, augment controls and manage our cost base to enhance returns and cash generation. We are delighted with the quality and scale of new bids we have won and invested in during the first half, further strengthening our significant pipeline for profitable growth. We expect continued momentum as we move through the rest of this year and into next.

"We are the market leader in the provision of mixed tenure homes, with business development 100 per cent focused on our differentiated Partnerships business. There is considerable unfulfilled demand and we are well positioned to deliver strong, sustainable financial returns."