North East housebuilding, mining and property company The Banks Group has increased its turnover and profit in a year of substantial investment.
The Durham business has posted its first set of results since selling its renewables division, with figures for 2024 showing turning rose from £26.3m to £27.1m, and overall profit for the year increased from a loss of £7.2m to profit of £11.02m.
Meanwhile, the previous year’s operating loss of £8.5m was narrowed to £5.1m.
Accounts showed that turnover within its mining and minerals division rose from £15.3m to £16.6m, with operations now focussed primarily on the Bantycock Gypsum mine near Newark, in Nottinghamshire, on behalf of owners Saint Gobain Formula.
Launched in 2023, the group’s dedicated housebuilding company, Banks Homes, is building a portfolio of sites across North East England and Yorkshire.
Work on its first site, the exclusive Symeon Court development at Mount Oswald in Durham City, is now almost complete, while the first residents have recently moved into new homes at the firm’s first large-scale development, Cathedral Meadows in West Rainton.
Work on further Banks Homes projects in Yarm and North Yorkshire is currently under way, with several new sites set to be brought forward in the coming months.
Banks Homes operates independently from, but alongside, the group’s property development arm, Banks Property, which saw turnover rocket from £700,000 to £8.4m. Directors said it is continuing to work on a number of projects and targeting planning consent for them at the earliest possible opportunity.
However, within the accounts, directors noted how Banks Group is working on a large volume of projects but continues “to see evidence that the current planning system is unduly slow and unpredictable with significant delays across the Ƶ leading to shortages in land available for much-needed new housing”.
Banks said it has also continued to support community groups and environmental projects across its operating areas by awarding more than 80 grants totalling over £375,000 during 2024, from funds linked to its different operational and planned developments.
Harry Banks, chairman and chief executive of the group, which recently became Durham Cricket’s principal partner and took on the naming rights to the Banks Homes Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street, said it is now looking ahead to celebrating its 50th anniversary of its foundation in Tow Law next year.
Mr Banks said: “The group’s performance of our business in 2024 was ahead of the previous year while we focussed on its future growth prospects. As we approach our 50th anniversary, we remain well placed to deliver good growth and earnings in the coming years from the different investments we are continuing to make.
“We have made good progress over the last year in the development of Banks Homes and have a highly experienced management team in place which is focused on delivering our goals.
“We have a healthy pipeline of opportunities in place, as well as a growing number of live sites, and are excited by Banks Homes’ future growth prospects.
“Banks Property is working successfully on a large volume of projects, but we are continuing to see evidence that the current planning system is unduly slow and unpredictable, with significant delays across the Ƶ leading to shortages in land available for much-needed new housing.
“Our mining operations are now focussed primarily on the Bantycock Gypsum mine near Newark, where we are delivering a highly efficient and effective operation on behalf of the site owner.
“The board remains committed to the group’s longstanding Development with Care approach, which sets standards and is fundamental to how we work and deliver tangible, long-term benefits to the communities in which we operate.
“We are proud to have supported thousands of charitable, community and environmental causes right through our history and to have helped to deliver long-lasting positive changes that make a real difference to people’s lives.”
