Upmarket building firm Cala has set out plans to double in size and build more than 1,000 new homes in Aberdeen.
The Edinburgh-based business grew underlying profits by 37% to a record £12.5million in the year to June 30 after completing the sale of 694 homes to private buyers at an average price of £335,000.
Its intention to more than double in size by 2017 follows the sale of the business in March to insurer Legal & General and private equity firm Patron.
It plans to significantly increase development activity in its heartlands of east Scotland and Aberdeen and to grow its presence in the south-east of England, where it believes there is unmet demand for high-quality homes.
Chief executive Alan Brown said: “It has been a positive year.
“Everyone is aware of the economic microclimate which exists in Aberdeen thanks to the oil and gas industry. Due to that, demand for all types of property is growing.
“We have a significant land bank in Aberdeen – 1,000 units – and we are looking to double in size in Aberdeen as well as elsewhere.”
Cala stands for City of Aberdeen of Land Association and was founded in the north-east in 1875.
It diversified from land-management business into housing in the mid-1970s, relocating to Edinburgh in 1978.
However, the firm’s north division, covering Aberdeen, is now a stand-alone firm called Cala Homes North, led by managing director Mike Naysmith.
The company said the seasonal slowdown in the housing market has been less prevalent this summer with the impact of the first stage of Help to Buy and continuing improvement in the UK mortgage market boosting demand.
Its average weekly sales rate since July 1 has exceeded expectations and, at 0.51 private reservations per site per week, is running in line with its full-year target despite covering the summer holiday period.
The company targets the more affluent areas of the UK such as the Home Counties, the Cotswolds and areas around Scotland’s major cities. According to the Nationwide building society, prices in Aberdeen have doubled in the past 10 years.
Lloyds Banking Group, which took control of Cala in a debt-for-equity swap in 2009 before selling the business this year, is continuing to support the company through a £100million five-year banking facility.
Cala has a land bank of more than 10,000 owned and contracted plots with a potential gross development value in June of £3.2billion.
It returned to profit in 2011, having been loss-making since 2008.