St Modwen, the firm which is developing the Glan Llyn housing site on part of the former Llanwern Steelworks in Newport, has reported a 68 per cent increase in profit before all tax to £138.1m.

Its housebuilding activities delivered a 167 per cent increase in residential profits to £24m, compared to £9m in 2013.

Bill Oliver, chief executive of St Modwen, said: “This has been an exceptional year for St Modwen and we have achieved significant progress across all of our major projects as well as increasing our active pipeline of commercial development opportunities to over 3m sq ft of space. The residential part of the business continues to perform well with good sales rates achieved throughout the year and we anticipate a sustained performance into 2015.

“Across the UK, we continued to grow the business, capitalising on the upturn in the regional property market and we look forward to continuing this level of success throughout the coming year.”

Rupert Joseland, South Wales regional director for St Modwen specialist, said: “The residential and commercial market continues to perform well in South Wales and we have been quick to take advantage of this up turn over the last 12 months.

“Spring 2014 saw our house building brand St Modwen Homes make its market debut in Wales with start of work on 47 new homes at our £1bn sustainable community, Glan Llyn, in Newport. This was followed by an autumn planning application to build 79 new homes further down the M4 at Coed Darcy. The first occupiers moved into their new residences at Glan Llyn this January and a planning application for an additional 90 St Modwen Homes houses will soon be submitted.

“We’ve been equally as busy on the commercial development side of the business. At Glan Llyn, we have recently submitted a planning application to start work on a new site access road and the first speculative 50,000 sq ft unit within the site’s 100 acre Celtic Business Park. The development’s close proximity to junction 23a of the M4 makes it the perfect choice for logistics and distribution firms as well as local businesses seeking prime real estate in order to flourish and grow."