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We have strengthened our financial position, business processes and structure after an exceptionally challenging few years following the banking crisis in 2008 and the economic downturn that followed. These market conditions affected the whole homebuilding and construction sector and we took decisive action early on to put in place our strategy for recovery.
Having secured our financial position in 2009, we significantly improved our financial performance during 2010. We have also refinanced our existing debt facilities and completed the sale of our North American business, providing us with more financial capacity to invest in the UK, as well as further strengthening our balance sheet.
We are focused on getting the basics right and achieving the best value from each home we sell through actively managing our land portfolio (the land we own or control) and our supply chain (the companies who provide us with products and services). We work with planning authorities, community groups and local people to provide attractive places to live.
We view our land holdings as an investment portfolio that we aim to add value to by using our development expertise to design places to live that meet local demand. This principle guides every stage of the approach we take to development. We regularly measure, monitor and review the work we have completed and record the results to track progress and guide future improvements. We continually challenge our development plans as they take shape, keeping a continued focus on delivering the scheme.
In the UK we operate through 24 regional businesses, giving us significant size and covering a wide geographical area. We work at a local level, employing people from the areas in which we operate, but also benefit from the efficiencies (including shared experience and buying as a Group) of being a national company.
Our developments benefit from the design expertise and best practice that we have used to develop our new range of preferred floor plans and elevations. This range allows us to use common materials and construction details across the company. These are designed to be high quality and energy efficient, and to reduce waste. Having a number of different floor plans and elevations gives our regional businesses considerable flexibility. This allows us to adapt to the nature and circumstances of the location and local aspirations for a particular site while also having the advantage of the efficiency savings (such as pre-drawn floor layouts) that are a benefit of having a company-wide range of homes.
We work with local and regional subcontractors and build using carefully sourced materials to make sure that the homes we sell are of a high quality and have the smallest possible effect on the environment. We actively manage our national supply chain with our central procurement department agreeing a number of company-wide contracts for materials and services. Our regional procurement teams also use local subcontractors and suppliers, and the regional scale of the business, to achieve the best value.
Health and safety is our number one priority.
The injury frequency rate allows us to identify trends and to make any necessary improvements.