The 20% rise in revenue contributes to a period of rapid growth which has seen the family run business double its sales volume since 2012.

Andy Hill, group chief executive, said the group was on track to meet its 2020 strategy of building more than 2,500 homes a year.

The house builder also intends to grow turnover to £850m with profits approaching £100m.

He said: “This year has been truly record-breaking. Hill has seen profits rise in 2016 from £30.7m to £37.2m enabling ever-higher investment in people and skills.”

The firm’s pipeline of work also jumped by over a quarter to £1.4bn, amounting to around 3,200 homes as some substantial developments came on stream.

These include Hill’s sites at Cambridge University’s North West Development, and a large project in Barton Park, Oxford, delivered in partnership with Oxford City Council and Grosvenor.

The house builder is also entering into further joint ventures with housing associations.  Earlier this year Hill signed its largest joint venture deal to date with Peabody to develop two sites in East London, at Fish Island Village and Lea Bridge Road, with combined development values of £350m.

The house builder’s partnerships arm contributed £227m to group turnover, up 28% on 2016.  Pre-tax profit at the arm rose from £890,000 to £4.2m in 2016.