Whoever gains power on 8 June ‘must back housebuilding beyond the South-east’

Avant Homes has called on the next government to turn its attention to supporting the housing market outside of the South-east of the country.

Colin Lewis, the housebuilder’s chief executive, said whoever took the reins of power after the 8 June general election should look to “seize the opportunity of a new electoral mandate to set out fresh thinking on how best to support the UK housing market. This includes a clear policy agenda to support the continued growth of the housing market outside of the South-east.”

Avant’s housebuilding activities are focused around Scotland, the North-east of England, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

Lewis added that ministers in the new administration must indicate what support, if any, they planned to give home buyers after the Help to Buy scheme came to an end in 2021.

Avant reported in a trading update that full-year revenue to the end of last month rose 44% to £368m, driven by strong growth in completions and an upward shift in average selling price. At 1,636, total completions were up 35% compared with the prior year.

Avant said it had added 1,100 plots to its owned and contracted land pipeline, which stands at 6,700 plots.

Lewis said: “The continued investment in our land supply in prime locations across the Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and the central belt of Scotland has further strengthened our platform to continue to drive significant growth.

“We are therefore confident of continuing to accelerate our growth and to deliver our milestone of 2,000 homes and £500m of revenues on our journey of growth.”

 

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