The launch of the new region in the South West Midlands region will help to lift new homes capacity by around 68% by 2020.

Chris Endsor chief executive revealed the ambitious growth plan as he unveiled a 44% jump in pre-tax profit to £89m from a 13% rise in revenue to £565m.

The improvement, which saw the firm top the £100m operating profit mark for the first time, saw margins swell to 18%, one year earlier than planned.

In 2016, Miller Homes completed a total of 2,380 homes, up 11% on the previous year, of which 348 were affordable homes.   Scotland accounted for 612 completions; North of England, 953 completions; and Midlands & South England delivered 815 new homes.

Endsor said: “During 2016 we outperformed on all our financial targets for the fifth consecutive year, confirming the strength of the regional markets, our operational expertise and the successful execution of our strategic plan.

“We entered the year with our 2017 forward sales being 50% ahead of last year. We continue to experience a strong sales market and are currently 55% forward sold for 2017

He added that the Miller had built a platform for further strong growth with the consented land bank increasing to 13,062 plots (2015: 11,600 plots).

“The capacity of the group has increased to 4,000 homes per annum, 68% higher than current levels.

“We aim to deliver this by 2020 supported by a substantial land investment programme and the launch of a new region in the South West Midlands this year.”