Stratford-based land and development company Catesby Property Group has reported significantly increased profits of £5.3 million for the period up to December 2006.
The results were recorded over the nine month period from April to December after the company brought its accounting period in line with the calendar year. This year marks the first time that accounts for Catesby Property Group and Catesby Estates have been consolidated to present results indicative of the entire group’s activities.
Established in 1996 by Midlands property entrepreneur Eric Grove, who remains the firm’s Chairman, and his daughter Louise, Catesby’s activities are primarily focused on commercial and residential property development, strategic land holding and property finance.
A number of key deals have contributed to the company’s growth over the last year. These include the pre-sale of one million sq ft of warehousing space to Standard Life at its Firstpoint site in Doncaster, and the sale, carried out with Coventry based partners Cassidy Developments, of Park Court – a mixed use site near Coventry mainline railway station where planning permission has been obtained for 436 residential units, a 124 bedroom hotel and 35,000 sq ft of commercial space.
Elsewhere, Catesby have started on site at Redbourn, Hertfordshire, where it is to develop a range of four and five bedroom detached luxury properties in conjunction with Donald Harrison Homes, and Vantage Point, Birmingham, where it is constructing 115,000 sq ft of industrial and distribution space in two units.
Paul Brocklehurst, Managing Director at Catesby Property Group, comments: “This marks the first time Catesby has placed its annual results in the public domain and we’re all extremely proud of what the firm has achieved. We’ve had a cracking 2006 and profits are very healthy indeed – despite only covering a nine month period.”
Brocklehurst is bullish about the year ahead, forecasting further growth for 2007 and hinting at a raft of sales and land purchases in the pipeline. He continues: “We’re certainly not ones to rest on our laurels and are always looking for new challenges and opportunities – there are already a number of major projects on the horizon.
“As a firm, we are all hungry for success and this is clearly reflected in our results. With our expertise, ambition and enthusiasm driving us forward, I have absolute confidence that, twelve months from now, we’ll be reporting our best set of results yet.”
