By Bethany Wales
One of Scotland’s biggest house builders, Springfield Properties, has won a £6.3m contract to construct more affordable housing in the country.
In an update this morning, the London-listed firm said it would be working with the Wheatley Group to complete the homes.
The news comes after it signed £24m worth of new affordable housing contracts.
Springfield Properties CEO Innes Smith said: “This new contract marks another great step for us in affordable housing, building on the excellent momentum with multiple recent contract wins and is a good way to end our current financial year in this area of the business.
“We are excited to once again be working with the Wheatley Group, a long-term partner of Springfield, to deliver these vitally important affordable homes.
“With our strong, established relationships with affordable housing providers across Scotland and a large high-quality land bank, we look forward to updating the market on further progress in this area in due course.”
In Febuary the firm said its revenue slid by 25 per cent to £121m in the six months to the end of November last year.
Revenue on solely private developments was down 26 per cent to £87m, while operating profit was down 37 per cent to £4.8m.
Board members told the market this morning that private housing demand was “impacted by high-interest rates, mortgage affordability and reduced homebuyer confidence.”
Fellow listed housebuilder Vistry said last year it would cut 200 jobs back in October and also focus on affordable housing after a volatile housing market eroded buyer demand.
Thanks to the revised business model, the housebuilder said pre-tax profits for 2023 were ahead of its previous guidance and in line with last year at £418m.
Springfield said it is on track to report results for 2024 in line with market expectations, including meeting a target to reduce net bank debt to around £55m by May 31, 2024.
