Scottish housebuilder, contractor and commercial developer, issues upbeat trading statement saying it anticipates growth in 2006.

Miller Group, the Scottish housebuilder, contractor and commercial developer, today issued an upbeat trading statement that said it anticipated growth in 2006.

Chief executive Keith Miller described 2005 as a “landmark year” for the company after its acquisition of Fairclough Homes, its largest to date.

The enlarged group is now expected to complete about 4000 units a year and to produce annual savings of about £15m.

Miller said that the market had been “challenging” in 2005 and that as a result underlying Miller volumes were slightly down on 2004, although Fariclough contributed 400 completions to a total of 2800.

He said: “While the market has been challenging during the year there has been a noticeable improvement in activity since the interest rate cut in the summer, with visitors and reservations ahead of last year.

Miller added that the commercial property market was “slowly improving.”