Mount Anvil expands London pipeline

Mount Anvil is preparing to expand its London development pipeline quickly now the market has readjusted. In its annual results, the central London residential developer generated profits of £55m in 2016 from a total turnover of £251m. Profits and turnover were down on the £66m and £297m recorded the year before, but it said this was a strategic decision to strengthen financial resources and better position itself to take advantage of land opportunities. The housebuilder delivered just 280 new homes in 2016, compared with 460 in 2015. At the year end, Mount Anvil had a pipeline of 875 homes worth £867m. However, in the first five months of 2017, Mount Anvil has exchanged on or is acquiring 3,250 homes with a development value of £1.3bn. This will see the company collaborate with new partners L&Q, Peabody Group, Hyde Group and Sainsbury’s, as it expands the partnership side of its business, which chief executive Killian Hurley says it will concentrate on exclusively from now on. Revenue from joint-venture partnerships was £43m, up from £41m the year before. Existing partners have include A2Dominion, One Housing and Clarion Housing. Ares Management provide financial backing for Mount Anvil and entered their eighteenth deal with it in 2016. The company had net cash of £19.9m, against £1.1m the year before, which it intends to use for land acquisition. Some 89% of 2017 sales targets are already secured. Hurley said: “2016 was a transformational year for Mount Anvil and has resulted in us being in a strong position to make targeted land acquisitions to support our ever-growing development pipeline with new and repeat partners.” Financial results 2016 2015 % change Results (£m) Gross development turnover 251 297 -15 Total profits 55 66 -17 Joint venture profits 43 41 5 Net cash 19.9 1.1 1709 External debt 25 31.4 -20 Avg. sales price 877,000 867,000 1 To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette