House building company, Westbury Homes, has announced record half-year profits of £29m, up 18 per cent on the 1999 figure of £24.6m.

Turnover grew from £226m to £231m in the half-year to August 31 for the company, which is currently building in Bromsgrove and Kidderminster.

"We have continued to deliver our promises to our shareholders and our customers," said Alan Perry, regional managing director for the Central region, which includes Worcestershire.

"Next year will see an expansion of the choice we offer our customers, including some new home designs and further improvements in construction techniques."

Westbury is one of the largest house builders in Britain, completing more than 4,200 homes in 1999.

The company controls sufficient land to build more than 25,000 homes, with planning permission granted on 12,350 plots.

"We are increasing the range of homes we build to include some larger designs and buying land in prime locations," said Mr Perry.

"On top of this, we have recognised the growing demand for urban living and we will be building a number of exciting city centre developments in key locations around Britain."