INL.L Share News (INL)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Housebuilder Inland Homes PLC said on Tuesday that the first five months of the year ending June 30, 2019 was in line with management expectations.

At its annual general meeting earlier on Tuesday, the company said its strategy to focus on homes for sale in the South East of England, as well as Partnership Housing and land trading has provided a platform for a strong performance in the rest of its financial year.

Inland Homes' current land bank stands at 7,000 plots, of which 1,7000 are consented, with another 2,000 in the planning pipeline.

In Partnership Housing, the group's current construction order book stands at GBP90 million and is said to be progressing well, with a further GBP60 million in new opportunities being targeted.

The Private Housing segment is on target to complete 80 homes in the first half of the year, at an average selling price of GBP252,000.

For the same period the year before, 96 private homes were completed, at an average selling price of GBP322,000.

Inland's new modular temporary homes subsidiary, Hugg Homes has installed its first development of 22 units in Southampton. The business will aim to secure temporary planning consents in the range of three to five years, and pre-let the units to local authorities.

Fellow subsidiary Rosewood Housing has obtained regulatory approval after a 30-month registration period to become a "for profit" registered provider of affordable housing.

Both businesses are expected to deliver recurring income later in the year.

"The market remains supportive for Inland Homes, with healthy demand for affordably priced homes in the South East and a number of encouraging measures announced by the Government that should benefit us," said Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wicks.

"The investment we have made in our housebuilding operations has allowed us to significantly increase our construction output, whilst improving certainty of delivery and providing cost efficiency benefits. These areas together with the strong relationships we have in place with housing associations, local authorities and other stakeholders provides us with a sound business model for our future growth ambitions," Wicks added.

Shares in Inland Homes were up 4.0% at 50.70 pence on Tuesday.