The house builder said it was also well advance with plans for a new homes division in the north-west Home Counties.

A new division management team has been appointed and several site are being shifted into the division to pump prime work.

Crest plans to raise house building from last year’s level of 2,172 homes by 25-30% over the next three years, with an average selling price uplift of 35%-40%.

Stephen Stone, Chief Executive, warned against any political measures to dampen demand in London.

“While London prices have risen rapidly until recently, any policy changes aimed at cooling the London market need to be mindful of the potentially detrimental effect on regional growth.

“We believe political leaders should hold firm to their convictions and provide the stable operating environment required for both large and SME house builders to commit to further volume increases.”

Pre-tax profit jumped 37% to £38m on sales revenue ahead by a quarter at £241m.

Sales rates in the six months to 30 April rose 8% to average at 0.83 sales per outlet per week.

During this year 784 units were added to the short term land bank across 9 sites, bringing the short-term portfolio to 16,118 units.

Stone added: “Purchaser demand continues to be very strong and high levels of forward sales mean that production capacity is currently the most critical factor for volume growth.”