Rising demand sees Gleeson build 400 homes in Yorkshire

The Sheffield-based group, which builds low cost homes in the North, said annual revenue rose 44 per cent after it sold 751 homes in the year to June 30, up from 561 the previous year.

The group focuses on helping council house tenants to buy their first home and with an average selling price of £123,750, it is making house buying an affordable possibility for many families.

Gleeson’s CEO Jolyon Harrison said: “We are on track to open 1,000 units a year and 350 to 400 of these will be in Yorkshire.

“We are making a significant contribution to the housing market, and to the bottom end of the market.

“80 per cent of the houses we sell are sold to council house tenants, which means the council houses can be occupied by people with poorer means.

“In places like Sheffield, the council waiting list stands at around 16,000 so every time we sell a house we take someone off the waiting list.”

Gleeson has sites spread across Yorkshire, including Bradford, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield and Barnsley.

Mr Harrison said that Gleeson’s sites have a significant effect on the area, with its home city of Sheffield being a prime exam- ple.

“We are building 385 houses and we are lifting the area.

“There are another 300 people there visiting local shops and making sure the schools are full,” he said.

Revenue rose 44.4 per cent in the year to June 30 to £117.6m and ​underlying ​pre-tax profits ​more than doubled to £23.4m.

Analyst James Tetley at N+1 Singer said: “Management is considering extending the existing model beyond its traditional heartland. No firm decisions have been taken but the initial review suggests that a staged expansion into adjacent regions could treble Gleeson’s addressable market.”