LONDON; Galliford Try might expand its housebuilding operations into the North of England within three years, said Ken Gillespie, its group managing director.
Mr Gillespie added that the company is adopting a "disciplined growth strategy" to housebuilding but is focused firmly on the South and South-East at present.
"As the market and economic environment hopefully improve, we will see a ripple as we always have done with a recessionary recovery in the country," he said. "Historically it has always been South to North.
"We want to continue, certainly in the short-term, to focus on the South. In two or three years, we might envisage talking about other parts of the UK, but certainly at the moment its South and South-East."
Mr Gillespie was speaking after his firm hit its target of doubling its housebuilding arm to 3000 units, meeting the three-year strategy it launched in September 2009. Profits in the division more than doubled in the year to 30 June 2012, as Galliford Try saw the fruits of having invested in land when the market was "dead on its feet", said Mr Gillespie.
The company is now focused on making the division as efficient as possible as it looks to increase its 11% margin another 3% by 2015, he said.
