Bovis Homes completed 3,759 new houses and its profits were ahead of expectation in 2018.

Bovis, which has a regional headquarters in Bishops Cleeve and is working on a number of building schemes across the county, said the 3,759 homes were up three per cent on 2017. The new houses were made up of 2,567 for the private sector and 1,192 affordable housing. Its average selling price grew slightly to £272,000.

In an update ahead of full results next month, the housebuilder said it expects to deliver in excess of £180m additional net cash to its balance sheet.

Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive, said: "The significant improvement in operational performance across all areas of the business is expected to deliver a record year of profits for the group. Customer satisfaction is a key priority and the group's return to 4 star housebuilder status, along with another controlled and disciplined period end, reflect this. We are looking forward to delivering the first homes from our new housing range in 2019 and continuing to make further operational and financial progress."