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Bovis increases private sales to housing associations
Bovis Homes has seen an increase in the number of private sale homes it is selling to housing associations, an update from the house builder has revealed.
In a trading update to the stock exchange today, Bovis said it had seen an increase in the number of private homes being sold to housing associations in 2018, and expected there to be further deals in 2019.
The company said that these deals had been driven by its “much-improved relationships” with housing associations.
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Last week Inside Housing reported that housing associations were buying up new build homes from private house builders at discounted rates.
Taylor Wimpey revealed that it had struck a bulk deal with an unnamed housing association before Christmas.
Speaking to analysts, Pete Redfern, chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, said that the deal was “relatively unusual” for the company but that it came during a period of uncertainty and helped to make the company’s order book as strong as possible.
In its trading update, Bovis said it expected to publish record profits for 2018. The company is also expected to achieve profits ahead of market consensus.
The group delivered a total of 3,759 homes in the year up to 31 December 2018, up 3% on last year’s figure of 3,645 homes. The number of affordable homes delivered for the year was 1,192.
Bovis said it had also made progress on a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with an unnamed housing association for a new major development in Wellingborough. In September the house builder signed a JV deal with Clarion for a new 1,500-home development in Sherford, Devon.
Both JVs combined are expected to deliver more than £180m on Bovis’ balance sheet.
Bovis said it had already identified further partnerships of this nature for 2019.
The update also revealed that it had done a bulk deal with housing association Heylo Housing in 2017, which saw Heylo pick up 275 private homes.
Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Bovis, said: “The significant improvement in operational performance across all areas of the business is expected to deliver a record year of profits for the group.
“We are looking forward to delivering the first homes from our new housing range in 2019 and continuing to make further operational and financial progress.”
