Shares of Flintshire-based house builder Redrow rose more than 5% after it said its revenue rose 20% to a record £890 million and pre-tax profit soared 26% to a record £176 million in the six months to December 31, 2017.

Interim dividend will be 9p per share, up from 6p.

While explaining his own firm’s results, Redrow chairman Steve Morgan took a swipe at the hugely controversial £110 million potential bonus for Jeff Fairburn, CEO at York-based rival housebuilder Persimmon.

Morgan told the London Evening Standard: “One company has got it very, very wrong.

“Everybody in the industry is as peed off with this Persimmon thing as the people outside it.

“For somebody who has not taken a salary for 20 years it sticks in the craw, being called a greedy housebuilder because of that one company.

“I’m sick to the teeth of seeing the headlines of greedy house builders.

“It is not true and they are doing the whole of the industry a complete disservice.”

Redrow’s legal completions rose 14% to 2,811 and its order book rose 5% to £1.05 billion.

Current land holdings are up 6% at 27,600 plots.

Morgan said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce Redrow has again delivered record results, for the first half of the financial year, with legal completions increasing by 14% to 2,811 and pre-tax profits up 26% to £176m.

“Reservations in the first five weeks of the second half have been in line with the strong comparable period last year.

“We entered the second half with a record order book, and customer traffic and sales remain robust.

“Given the strength of both our order book and land holdings, together with the robust sales market, our growth strategy remains on track.

“This gives me every confidence it will be another year of significant progress for Redrow.”