Half year results out today show underlying pre-tax profits were up 52% to £59.7m for the six months to June 30.

Operating margins also ticked-up from 8% to 9% despite a dip in turnover to £712.8m from £776m.

Persimmon completed 4,439 new homes during the period and will start work on 70 new sites before Christmas to add to its 380 active projects.

Persimmon said: “We anticipate opening a further 70 new sites in the second half of the year as we continue to refresh our network.

“This allows us to capture pent-up demand in areas which continue to suffer from the lack of supply of new homes.”

The firm has built up a landbank of 62,364 plots and the strong results allowed Persimmon to increase its interim divided to shareholders by 33%.

Nicholas Wrigley, Group Chairman said: “We remain committed to our strategic objectives of margin improvement and cash generation.

“As a consequence our teams across the country remain focussed on the basics of house building in their local markets which I am confident will deliver future success for the Group.”