The firm said it was successfully deflecting the worse impacts of the materials supply squeeze from a timely investment in its own brick and tile factory.

Persimmon group chief executive Dean Finch predicted margins would remain resilient, despite forecast cost inflation of 5% this year.

He said that alongside price increases on home sales secured,  vertical integration and strong cost management had helped maintain its industry-leading margin.

“We have invested in expanding our off-site manufacturing hub at Harworth, near Doncaster, to strengthen security of supply.

“Our brick plant and roof tile manufacturing facility provide a significant proportion of these materials to our sites.

“This complements our existing off-site manufacturing capability at Space4, which produces timber frames, highly insulated wall panels and roof cassettes as a modern method of constructing new homes.”

Finch said that with the security of availability of its in-house manufactured build components, Persimmon remained in a strong position to support its build programmes to deliver targeted growth in output while also achieving a resilient closing stock position at the end of 2021.

In the first half of the year, pre-tax profits rebounded to £480m, as sales rates rose 20% against the pre-pandemic 2019 first half.

The house builder reported good forward sales of £2.23bn, including legal completions in the second half so far, up 9% on the more normal trading year of 2019.

This would keep it on track to deliver 10% growth in sales completions this year.

Persimmon ended the first half with a strong cash balance of £1.32bn.