Canny Bovis Homes thriving on pre-Brexit bargain buys

Clever negotiations in the run-up to the EU referendum helped Bovis Homes to snap up land at discounted prices, the boss of the South-East builder has said.

David Ritchie said he was able to take advantage of jitters in the property market last month, and he revealed an 18% sales surge.

He said: “We went back to vendors [to renegotiate] and in some cases we negotiated cheaper land prices.”

The bargains helped Bovis to buy 1267 plots with planning permission in place during the six months to June 30.

Revenue jumped to £412.8 million and pre-tax profit rose 15% to £61.7 million. The firm is paying a dividend per share of 15p, up from 13.7p last year.