Cala Group has said it has raised its growth expectations after forecasting a record annual profit.

The house builder, which is based in Edinburgh, said last October that it planned to double in size by 2017 through organic growth. However, following its acquisition of Banner Homes in March 2014, the company says it could "almost treble in size" in two years.

In its trading update for the year to the end of June, Cala said it expected a "significant" rise on last year's profits. It added that, during the financial year, the average selling price of a property increased by 24% to £415,000. Private completions remained virtually the same.

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Alan Brown, Chief Executive of Cala Group, commented: "The last 12 months has been a transformational period for the business and we enter the new financial year in a very strong position.

"In October 2013, we announced plans to double the size of the business through organic growth by 2017. But, with the Banner integration significantly advanced and the group delivering well against our stated strategy, we are now confident we can almost treble in size, significantly ahead of our targets, in just two years."

He continued: "Following our own acquisition by Patron Capital and Legal & General in 2013, we remain very well financed. As a result we have been able to make selective acquisitions within the land market during the period, mainly of larger sites in the south east of England, in order to support our growth plans in the region."

(JP/CD)