Redrow said the improvements were driven by strong sales of its New Heritage Collection, a range of two to four-bedroom houses launched in February 2010. These homes made up 41% of total sales in the second half of the year for the firm. Redrow's pre-tax profit of £700,000 last year came a year after the company made a pre-tax loss of £44.2m. The company is one of the UK's largest house builders. It was founded in 1974 when it was a small civil engineering concern specialising in drainage sub-contracting. The firm moved into house building in the 1980s.