George Wimpey’s results to the year-end 2004 show pre-tax profits up 19% to £450.7 million and operating margins up 17.1%. The strong set of results for Britain’s largest housebuilder continue a four-year growth trend for the plc, assisted by a careful approach to spending and land buying. Chairman John Robinson said: “The past four years have been years of remarkable growth, in which we have taken a number of very important management decisions to secure the long term success of our business. We believe these actions have placed George Wimpey in a stronger position from which to respond to the changing conditions we have experienced since the UK housing market started to slow during the second half of 2004. In the UK our focus on cost control and careful land buying will help us sustain the improvement we have achieved over the past few years in our operating margins.”