Over the period to June, Henry Boot raised revenue 12% to £144m, generating a 68% uplift in pre-tax profit to £39m, due mainly to strong residential land sales and industrial development activity.

The construction arm also enjoyed a good start to the year with revenue ahead by over a fifth at £67m and trading profit up nearly a half to £6.3m.

Boot said virtually all of this year’s construction order book has fixed price orders placed or contractual inflation clauses.

Tim Roberts, chief executive officer, said: “We have had one of our best ever first half years with materially rising profits and good progress achieved against our strategic targets.

“Taking advantage of our three key markets we have made significant sales while being selective on purchases.

“This has allowed us to keep gearing low, despite continued investment in our high-quality committed development programme and our growing housebuilder, and at the same time increase our interim dividend by 10%. 

“We have worked hard to do our best to adjust to supply restrictions, inflation and an increasingly complex planning system.

“This work, together with our committed team of people and the relatively high level of forward sales for 2023, see us well placed as we enter what seems yet another period of economic uncertainty.”