Springfield to report ‘substantial’ increase in profit following land sales to Barratt Redrow

Springfield Properties has said it will report a “substantial” increase in annual pre-tax profit following a series of land sales.

The housebuilder, in a short trading update today for the year to 31 May, reported a 5.2% increase in turnover from £266m to £280m.

The group signed a deal in February to sell six sites in central Scotland, equating to 2,480 plots, to housebuilding giant Barratt Redrow. Five site sales have completed and the sixth is due in the coming weeks.

The Springfield update said: “The group’s land sales were highly profitable and, as a result, the group expects to report a substantial increase in profit before tax for the year, in line with current market expectations.” Springfield has previously announced its pre-tax profit nearly trebled from £1.2m to £3.5m year-on-year in the first half of its year.

It added Springfield is in discussions about further land sales.

Springfield said the land sales is part of the group’s plan to remove bank debt and become net cash positive by 2027. Springfield said its bank debt at the end of May was £21m, down from £39.9m a year ago.

They are also part of a strategy to shift focus to northern Scotland, as opposed to developing in the centre of the country. Springfield has previously expressed a desire to exploit anticipated growth in green infrastructure in the north of Scotland, pointing out Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is investing £31bn into upgrading the electricity network in the region and the project will require around 5,000 workers in 2027.

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Springfield said private housing sales were impacted by subudued market conditions and it experienced a lengthening of the sales cycle, meaning completions were lower than expected.

It said affordable housing will show a year-on-year increase in revenue and a significant improvement in gross margin, which returned to double digits.

It said this was due to the group completing low-margin legacy contracts at the end of 2024 and delivering contracts in the current year on stronger commercial terms.

The group’s full, audited results will be published in September 2025.