Persimmon reports 34% jump in profits in 2015
The housebuilder is the latest to report a huge leap in profits as the UK house market continues to boom.
The average selling price of its homes increase 4.5% to £199,127, while the number of homes it sold rose 8pc to 14,572. It also acquired a further 20,501 plots of land.
Since 2012, the number of homes that Persimmon has sold each year has increased by almost 50%.
Nicholas Wrigley, group chairman, said: “Persimmon delivered an outstanding performance in 2015, supported by improving customer sentiment and a mortgage market which is responding to customer demand.
“Customer activity in the early weeks of the 2016 spring season has been encouraging and today's further £860m enhancement to the capital return plan to a total of £9.00 per share is a measure of the board's confidence in the group's future progress.”
The government’s Help to Buy scheme has also assisted house builders as it allows first-time buyers the ability to buy a hose with government help, where they may not have been able to buy a house otherwise.
Despite this growth, Persimmon is still facing some challenges, one of which is finding skilled workers. It’s keen to open new sites as soon as possible and is calling for a change in planning regulations to get houses built even more quickly.
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