“We are confident that we can grow organically and stay in the public arena,” said Calverley.
Try Group reported a 52% increase in pre-tax profit to £1.85m and a 19% rise in turnover to £82.5m for the six months to 30 June 1999.
Calverley said the group had benefited from a strong housing market in the South-east. This pushed up operating profit in the housing arm by 36% to £2.1m. The average selling price fell from £242 000 to £184 000 because of the acquisition of Amey Homes, which sells lower-value houses.
Calverley welcomed the latest interest rate rise, saying: “We would not want house price inflation to continue at this rate.”
Operating profit in the contracting arm rose 13% to £306 000 on margins of 0.5% in the first half. Calverley said he expected this to rise to 1% in the full year.
