THE MANAGING director of a Hampshire developer has praised his team for their outstanding efforts after the firm announced profits for 2013 of £330 million.

Matt Paine, the managing director of Fareham-based Persimmon Homes South Coast, said the hard work of his team helped the business deliver a national increase in pre-tax profits of 49 per cent over the last year.

He added that the firm’s success was linked to a Government scheme which allowed first-time buyers to get on the property ladder.

Matt said: “Customer demand has certainly increased in the region and I’m extremely proud of the team for rising to the challenge and helping to deliver today’s excellent results.

“We have built our success on responding to that demand and delivering the types of houses needed to meet the requirements of local people.

“The purchase of land is key to our future success and as a business we acquired 17,735 plots of new land across 130 high quality locations during 2013.

“We continue to work closely with local authorities to gain planning within the region to ensure we continue to meet the high demand from potential buyers.

“Help to Buy, the Government’s equity loan scheme, has undoubtedly helped some people get onto the property ladder or simply move up quicker than they anticipated and it’s our job to deliver houses to anyone looking for a brand new home.”

New developments in Hampshire led to the firm, which has been operating since 1972, build more homes over the last year and the business plans to open at least a further four sites this year across the south.

Over the last year Persimmon signed over the deeds on 11,528 sales in 2013 across the country, leading to a 21 per cent increase in revenues of £2.1 billion. The firm’s underlying profits were 50 per cent stronger than last year with a windfall of £333 million compared to the £223 million they made the year before.