McCarthy & Stone hails 'strong' recovery

FTSE 250 retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone said on Wednesday that it saw a "strong" recovery in the second half of the year, with revenue and the order book up on the previous year despite uncertainty brought about by Brexit and the general election.

In a trading update ahead of its full-year results in November, the company said revenue rose by 4% to around £660m, with total legal completions of 2,302 versus 2,296 the year before. Meanwhile, the gross average selling price was up 3% to around £273,000, in line with previous guidance.

In addition, McCarthy saw a strong recovery in the underlying operating margin in the second half, reflecting a continuing improvement in sales mix and quality of sites, while the year-end forward order book was 21% ahead of 2016.

The group opened 52 new sales outlets during the year and said it remains confident of delivering a further 80 new sales releases in FY18.

"The group delivered a consistent improvement in trading throughout the year despite the increased uncertainty in the secondary market following the EU referendum result in June 2016 and the general election in June 2017.

"All sales lead indicators remain well ahead of the prior year and an increased level of forward sales of circa £141m are being carried into the new financial year, representing a 21% improvement on the prior year," the company said.