Kier has teamed up with Cross Keys Homes to form a housing delivery joint venture (JV).

The deal will see Kier transfer part of its land bank and a number of its residential developments in the east of England, valued at £97 million, into the partnership with Cross Keys, who will contribute £4m.

Haydn Mursell, Chief Executive of Kier, said: "The joint venture represents a strategic milestone for Kier Residential. This transaction enables us to accelerate our strategy to recycle the capital employed in the Kier private land bank to drive the future growth of the Group and improve our overall ROCE. In addition, the joint venture plays a role in addressing the UK Government's housing strategy by creating a vehicle which can focus on delivering new homes in the east of England, a geography both parties know well."

The news comes as Kier unveils its latest half-year results.

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The company's construction division reported underlying operating profit of £20.8m, up 19%, with revenue standing at over £1 billion.

In addition, Kier's current order book is £3.3bn and represents all of the targeted revenue for the 2017 financial year, underpinned by recent regional construction awards.

Other highlights include;

• Kier being named preferred bidder to design and build a new £36m comprehensive school for Torfaen County Borough Council in Wales.

• Being appointed to build the £24m Maria Fidelis FCJ Catholic School in Camden

• Also in Camden, securing a £17.3m contract to redevelop two properties to provide a resource and community services centre for adult social care.

In addition, the company is on site delivering phase two of Eastbourne Arndale Centre's £85m extension.

Nigel Brook, executive director for construction and infrastructure services, said: "These are a strong set of results for our construction division with record revenue and a 100% secured order book of £3.3bn for the 2017 financial year.

"Work across the division is evenly split between public and private sector, leaving us well-placed to capitalise on the Government's areas of focus as well as growing sectors such as aviation and biotech.

"Our regional operations continue to perform well, reinforcing Kier's position as the UK's leading regional builder. Our extensive network of regional offices enables us to work closely with public and private sector clients across the country to understand their requirements on a local level. This is reflected in the raft of regional projects we've been awarded this year across the country."

(LM/CD)