MASSIVE pre-tax profits for a national house-builder that has regional headquarters in north Hampshire have delivered impressive financial growth for the 11th consecutive year.

Westbury, which has its southern region headquarters in the village of Hartley Wintney, saw pre-tax profits for the group go through the roof to £115.6million - an increase of 24 per cent on the 2003 figure of £93m.

Turnover increased by 11 per cent to £879m, compared with £790.9m in the previous year.

The growth in profits is ahead of expectations following the acquisition of Prowting in June 2002.

In the southern region, house sales rose to 439 units, representing just under 10 per cent of total sales, compared with a total of 295 in 2002/03.

The average selling price rose from £203,700 to £230,800.

Neil Bloomfield, managing director of the southern region, said: "Over the last 11 years, Westbury has demonstrated the ability to achieve sustained growth in its core business while identifying and successfully integrating appropriate complementary businesses.

"The announcement of yet another successful year of profit, earnings and dividend growth amply demonstrates that the fundamentals of our market place remain sound."

The year has seen a restructuring of Westbury operations in the South, which delivered a saving of around £3.5m.

Now the region believes it is moving forward into another successful year as demand for new homes continues to outstrip supply and employment prospects remain high.

Mr Bloomfield said: "Westbury offers products ranging from £80,000 to £1.75m, but our focus continues to be on providing high-quality homes in prime locations to the mainstream market.

"In the current year we expect our average selling price to be at a similar level to last year."

Westbury has total land holdings of 39,200 plots - representing almost eight years' supply at current rates of sale.