Housebuilder Cala bounces back with record sales

Upmarket housebuilder Cala Homes has bounced back from a tough pandemic year with record sales.

The Edinburgh-based firm expects to report revenues of £1.25bn for 2021, with pre-tax profit of about £130m - an increase of 35% on 2019.

In 2020, sales slumped to £713m, down from £1bn in 2019, as business was interrupted by national lockdowns.

Cala said its success had been driven by "very strong demand for our homes in aspirational suburban locations".

The company completed more than 2,900 homes in 2021, up by 19% on its 2019 result and 59% higher than its 2020 total.

However, the average sales price of £462,000 in 2021 was slightly down on 2019.

Larger living spaces

Chief executive Kevin Whitaker said there were several factors behind its performance.

"In particular, we have seen many people making positive new home choices to seek out larger living spaces and this has driven very strong demand for our homes in aspirational suburban locations," he said.

"While there have been significant supply chain challenges across the industry, the market has been strong.

"This, combined with improvements to our operational efficiency and the hard work of our team, has enabled us to deliver an excellent performance across the year."

He added that the company entered 2022 with record forward private reservations.

Cala has a "medium-term ambition" of reaching annual revenues of £1.8bn by 2026.