Housebuilder Bellway expects to build 10,000 homes for the first time in its present financial year as buyers continue to enjoy low interest rates and support from the Help to Buy scheme.

The developer, which is advertising homes across eight developments in Kent, with a further six sites in the planning, boosted turnover by 15% to £1.3 billion in the six months to the end of January as it finished 4,741 homes, up 6%.

Half-year pre-tax profits grew 17% to £288.7 million, helped by an average selling price of £275,945, up 8%.

Shareholders have been rewarded with a 28% hike in their interim dividend to 48p, with the company's forward order book nearly 8% ahead on March 11 at £1.5 billion, compared to the same time last year.

The board expects the volume of new homes to grow by about 600 in the second half of the year, putting it on target to be building more than 10,000 properties a year for the first time.

Chairman John Watson said multiple factors had contributed to the firm's success, including the government's target for 300,000 homes a year to be built in the UK by the middle of the next decade.

Help to Buy, a shared ownership scheme backed by the government, accounted for 39% of Bellway's completions during the period.

Mr Watson added: "Unemployment is at a generational low and buying a new home is affordable for many.

"This is supported by low interest rates, which following recent Bank of England commentary, are still likely to remain below historical norms for the foreseeable future, and a responsible and sustainable lending environment, with good availability of mortgage finance.

"In addition, government initiatives, such as the continued availability of Help to Buy and the introduction of stamp duty land tax relief for the majority of first time buyers, are helping customers to meet deposit requirements, which otherwise remain a challenge across the wider second hand housing market.

"There is cross-party support to deliver an increased supply of new homes and notwithstanding increased output across the industry, there remains a shortage of good quality housing, set in desirable locations. "In the context of these market conditions, demand for Bellway product remains resilient, with customer confidence seemingly unaffected by the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming exit from the EU."