Berkeley set to achieve profit target two years early

The Berkeley Group is set to achieve its profit target at least two years earlier than originally anticipated, the firm said this week.

Chairman Tony Pidgley used Monday’s annual general meeting to confirm that the firm’s 2010 target effectively to double profits over five years is ahead of schedule after trading ahead of expectations since results in June.    

Conditions in the four months ended 31 August 2011 have enabled further growth in forward sales, which are in excess of £850m, up from £814m in May 2011.  

A statement to the city ahead of the annual general meeting said: “Since the original plan was announced in May 2010, trading has been ahead of management expectations and Berkeley has achieved a significant number of planning consents and invested in work in progress, in line with its strategy. Together with the performance in the period since 1 May 2011, the board believes it is now positioned to achieve the profit target set in the five-year plan at least two years earlier than originally anticipated, to the extent that market conditions prevail.”

Berkeley has continued to add to its land bank, acquiring seven new sites since the end of April, and continues to focus on its existing assets. Its declared target in this area is to grow the future gross margin in the land bank from £2bn to £3bn over five years from 2010.