Keepmoat Homes made a pre-tax loss of 拢19.5m for the year ended 31st October 2020, compared to a 拢37.7m profit the previous year. Operating profit fell from 拢58.8m to 拢5.2m on turnover down 38% to 拢406.0m (2029: 拢649.8m).
With the first national lockdown stopping work on site for many weeks, Keepmoat sold only 2,460 homes during the year (2019: 4,035).
However, the business is bouncing back and has secured 聽new financing facilities from its banks and a pre-emptive equity injection from shareholders TDR Capital and Sun Capital Partners.
Chief executive Tim Beale said: 鈥淒espite the year鈥檚 challenges, our mixed-tenure partnership model has continued to set us apart, proving incredibly resilient and ensured we are bouncing back strongly and started the spring selling season well.
鈥淲e started the year with a strong first quarter, demonstrating good momentum following a record performance in the financial year ended 31st October 2019. With the arrival of the pandemic and safety our top priority, we closed all our sites in April 2020 and introduced rigorous Covid-safe working protocols and inspection regimes before undertaking a phased re-opening in May. We accelerated the digital transformation of our business, investing in our digital infrastructure to improve the customer sales journey, with online sales and appointment booking tools, as well as systems to strengthen build management.鈥�
He continued: 鈥淎s one of the UK鈥檚 largest and oldest partnership builders, we are uniquely placed to serve the needs of the UK today with over 70% of our open market sales in the last financial year made to first-time buyers. We operate in the sweet spot of the UK housing market, with continuing strong demand for our high quality, affordable homes from first-time buyers and for our mixed tenure offering. Housing is a major government priority, and many customers are re-appraising where they want to live with demand for flexible space for living, working, exercising, and relaxing.
鈥淲e continue to execute our growth strategy, benefitting from a record forward sold position and the excellent forward visibility provided by our land pipeline of over 24,000 plots, equivalent to six years鈥� supply, as well as the flexibility provided by our mixed tenure model.
鈥淲e ended the reporting period with regained momentum, which has continued over the last six months, and I am confident that in 2021, Keepmoat will continue to go from strength to strength.鈥�
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