Persimmon, of the UK’s largest housebuilders has reported a 57% increase in first half profits in more positive news for the construction industry.

The summer months are traditionally slow in the construction industry however Chief Exec Jeff Fairburn says the company has around £1.53 billion worth of forward orders in the second half of 2014 which is an increase of 22% when compared with last year.

All this stacks up as great news for the construction industry and fits in with the trends we’re seeing when dealing with our own clients who all seem to be increasingly benefiting from the recovery across the UK.

Fairburn said: “Persimmon has produced another strong performance in the first half of 2014, taking advantage of the current market conditions to deliver growth whilst strengthening the financial position of the business,”

The performance of Persimmon came at a time when Nationwide released figures showing mortgage lending to be down amid signs the housing market’s rapid growth was starting to cool down, although it’s probable that the figures have been inflated by the massive increases that many believed were unsustainable in London and the South East.

Discussing the mortgage market, Nicholas Wrigley, Persimmon’s chairman, said: “We welcome the continued discipline of mortgage lenders against the backdrop of the ongoing improvement in the UK’s wider economic performance which is supporting increased confidence in our regional markets.

“Disciplined lending in support of a keen appetite to purchase newly built homes from both first time buyers and existing home owners provides the opportunity for the housebuilding industry to increase activity.”

It’s still good news for the industry that our leading house buildiers are performing so strongly and it should give us all confidence to go forward and build our way out of the shadow of the recession and out of this period of recovery.