L&Q boosts completions and starts in first half of the year

L&Q has increased its completions and starts year-on-year in the six months to 31 September.

The 110,000-home landlord in a brief trading update today said it completed 1,052 homes in the first half of the year, up from 950 in the same period last year.

The figure was boosted by the completion of 645 affordable homes at Kidbrooke Village in Greenwich.

Despite the first-half rise, L&Q has previously announced a target of 2,069 completions in 2024/25, which would be down on the 2,316 it completed last year. This was itself the group’s lowest completions figure in a decade as L&Q has pivoted towards improving existing stock.

L&Q started work on 636 new homes, up from 472 in the same period last year. The majority of starts were later phases of existing developments.

The G15 member’s half-year turnover was £511m, down from the £540m posted in the first half of 2023/24, while its operating surplus fell from £217m to £199m over the same period.

L&Q has been pursuing a strategy of focusing on its core areas with the greatest concentration of homes. It has entered into contract for the sale of 3,500 homes in south Buckinghamshire to newly merged provider SettleParadigm and is in discussions to sell its 3,400-home private rented sector business Metra Living.

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Edward Farnsworth, executive group director of finance at L&Q said the figures reported today : “reflect continued delivery against our corporate strategy, with a strong focus on investing in existing homes and services.”

He added: “Through our £3bn, 15-year Major Works Investment Programme, we’ve improved more than 15,300 homes since 2023. We’re also making excellent progress on the sector’s largest building safety programme, with inspections completed at over 2,000 buildings.”