Hill Group’s completions rise 18% as building safety delays impact affordable starts

Andy Hill, founder and group chief executive of Hill, said in his statement that the house builder’s partners delivering affordable housing “have less to invest in their new build housing programmes”.

The developer said partnership-led delivery with local authorities is at the core of its business model, accounting for 50% of the business. It now has a total of eight investment partnerships with local authorities and housing associations.

“This structure is all the more crucial as local authorities face increasingly urgent financial challenges and seek innovative and efficient ways to deliver high volumes of high-quality housing,” the report said.

Hill’s newest partnership is with Dacorum Borough Council, which has a focus on delivering affordable homes through regeneration.

The builder also recently teamed up with the National Housing Bank to acquire a major site in Cambridge where around 10,000 new homes could be built.

The annual report also said Hill’s expansion into the build-to-rent space “has continued at pace, with four major deals now complete and more in the pipeline”.

Its financial results showed that turnover was up marginally by 1% to £1.16bn, while profit was up 2% to £92.5m.

Mr Hill said: “These results demonstrate the resilience of our business model and progress towards our long-term objectives. 

“In a restrained market, we have continued to increase turnover, profit and completions while investing in future opportunities.”

He added: “While market conditions remain challenging and economic uncertainty continues to impact buyer confidence, we remain optimistic about the future. 

“Recent commitments to affordable housing investment provide greater certainty for the sector, and with a substantial strategic pipeline, a growing order book and an exceptional team in place, we are well positioned to deliver the ambitions set out in our 2025-2030 business plan.”