GALLIFORD Try, the housebuilder and construction group, said stronger demand, aided by the Help to Buy scheme, had helped it to record pre-tax profits of £74.1m, up 17 per cent, for the year to the end of June.

It came as Crest Nicholson said it expected meet its target of selling 2,500 homes annually at least a year early after a summer of soaring demand.

The builder, which rejoined the stock market this year, said state incentive schemes fuelled a 46 per cent annual surge in reservations between May and this month, lifting forward sales for next year by 92 per cent.

But Surrey-based Crest, which builds mainly in the south of England, said the booming housing market is also forcing up some materials prices and causing delivery delays.

Deliveries of bricks and blocks are being pushed back as manufacturers struggle to keep up with demand, the builder said, forcing it to import materials from Europe.

It echoed comments from County Durham-based Esh Group, which last week said a shortage of raw materials and skilled workers could hamper any recovery in the building trade.

Crest said the cost inflation and delays were expected, and insisted the squeeze should abate as its suppliers and sub-contractors adjust to new levels of activity.

The housing market has been inflated by schemes such as Help to Buy, which allows people to buy a new-build home with a five per cent deposit.

The Government’s Funding for Lending Scheme has also been credited with lowering the cost and boosting the availability of home loans.

Crest’s reservation rate between May 1 and September 6 rose to 0.95 per outlet per week, from 0.65 a year earlier.

Forward sales for its new financial year, starting in November, now total £145m, up from £75m a year earlier. Crest also opened more sales outlets, and traded from 46 developments during the period, compared with 39 a year earlier.

Galliford Try’s operating margin at its housebuilding arm rose from 11.8 per cent to 13.1 per cent on revenues roughly flat at £1.5bn. Sales fell slightly to 2,932 from 3,039, which Galliford said was in line with its focus on more lucrative developments in the South of the country.

The strong housebuilding perfomance offset the company’s exposure to the tough construction market, which is yet to enjoy a similar recovery.

The order book was maintained at £1.7bn and the firm said a margin of 1.7 per cent, down from two per cent the year before, was in line with its expectations.

Management announced a dividend of 37p a share, payable on November 29 and up from 30p a year ago.