HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments says it expects to continue its improvement as market conditions remain strong.

The company, founded by North-East property tycoon Sir Lawrie Barratt, revealed it is on track to hit 15,000 sales, excluding joint ventures, in its financial year.

In a statement covering the 19-week period from July 1 to November 9, it added private forward sales were up 11.9 per cent to £1.26bn, with its number of active sites expected to reach 400 by June next year.

Mark Clare, group chief executive, said: “We are on track to see another significant improvement in performance by continuing to focus on delivering high quality, well designed homes in places where people want to live.

“Our disciplined approach to investment in new sites is underpinning our confidence that by 2017 we can deliver at least a 20 per cent gross margin and a minimum return on capital of 25 per cent.”