Build to rent developer Watkin Jones forecasts £430m revenue
Rental developer Watkin Jones has reported an optimistic trading update, forecasting £430m revenue.
Its forecast revenue is slightly below expectations but with a stronger gross margin that reflected the timing of land sales either side of the year end, it said.
In the trading update for the year ended September 30 2021, the property manager posted £125m net cash at the end of the year. This was around 50 per cent above expectations.
Operating profit for the year is expected to be in line with expectations.
The company also outlined fresh ESG initiatives, including to install heat pumps on all its new developments from 2023 as part of its plans to slash carbon emissions.
It said it had completed and handed over all five build to rent schemes and seven purpose built student accommodation schemes scheduled for delivery in 2021.
For its accommodation management arm Fresh, there had been an increase of 10.1 per cent in properties under management. There were 22,220 student beds and build to rent apartments under management presently.
Richard Simpson, chief executive officer of Watkin Jones, said: “It’s been a year of good progress for Watkin Jones. Our end-to-end development capability, combined with favourable market dynamics and our capital light business model, has enabled us to deliver a strong operational and financial performance.”
Three build to rent and eight student accommodation schemes had been forward sold since the start of 2021, the firm said on Tuesday.
Watkin Jones said it had added a further £227m of future projected revenue to the pipeline, bringing total to £1.75bn.