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Housebuilder Redrow has reported a surge in year end revenues but said that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ housing market has moderated in recent months and expects sales to return to historic levels in the current financial year.

For its financial year to the end of June this year the Flintshire headquarterd Stock Market listed business show revenues climb 45% on the previous year to £1.94bn - although still 8% below the pre-pandemic figure for the year to the end of June, 2019.

The housebuilder said during the year it saw 5,620 legal completions, compared to 4,032 a year earlier. Pre-tax profits rose 124% from £140m to £314m - although 23% down on the £406m for 2019

The housing sector has been boosted by Covid response stamp duty holidays which end next month.

Chairman John Tutte said: “Against a background of much uncertainty at the start of the financial year, I am delighted to be able to report the group delivered an excellent performance in the year to the end of June 2021 with better than expected result

“The buoyant housing market has moderated in recent months and we anticipate sales rates will return to historically average rates over the course of the current financial year.

“It is on this basis we have planned for the future and we are confident our timely investment in land, combined with strong demand for our Heritage homes, will support our longer-term growth aspirations. Additionally, our record order book also provides us with an excellent platform for the future with over £1.3bn of revenue already secured for the current financial year. As a result, the business is well-placed to deliver another set of strong results.”

The group reversed an opening net debt position of £126m to end the year with net cash of £160m after making a significant investment in new land.

The board is proposing a final dividend of 18.5p making a total of 24.5p for the year.