Housebuilder pledges to focus more on private sales as it trades out of 鈥榣ow margin鈥� sites
Crest Nicholson has said its annual profit will be at the lower end of its expectations, as its chief executive pledged a 鈥測ear of transition鈥� in 2025 to focus more on private sales.
The housebuilder, in an update for the year to 31 October, said its adjusted pre-tax profit will be towards the bottom of its previously expected 拢22m to 拢29m range.
It said this is due to a higher proportion of affordable homes delivered, and also due to the fact it is continuing to 鈥渢rade out of low margin sites鈥�.
Martyn Clark, chief executive, said in a statement that 2025 will be a 鈥測ear of transition鈥�.
He said: 鈥淲e will focus more on private sales and prioritise value over volume to enhance returns and margins.鈥�
He added the company was 鈥渨ell-positioned with sufficient land with full planning permission鈥� to support its planned outlets and volumes.
Clark said the housebuilder鈥檚 performance in 2024 has been affected by internal and external factors, with private open market sales volumes hit by 鈥渙ngoing affordability concerns鈥�
The housebuilder said it built 1,873 homes in the year to 31 October, of which 45% are for affordable tenures or the private rented sector.
It said its open market sales rate was 0.48 sales per outlet per week. This was down on the 0.52 posted for the previous year, although Crest Nicholson said the rate had picked up to 0.53 in the last 10 weeks of the year.
Crest Nicholson also said it invested 鈥渟electively鈥� in appropriate scaled sites, adding 1,158 plots to its pipeline. It also said its new centralised specialist building safety team has 鈥渕ade good progress鈥� on fire remediation.
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Clark, who took over as chief executive in January following a profit slump, said: 鈥淎s we execute on many of the near term operational improvements, we will also look to further strengthen the business for the future, where we will focus on three areas in particular: optimising value from our high-quality land portfolio; building homes of exceptional quality efficiently; and, delivering outstanding service to customers.鈥�
The group鈥檚 preliminary results are due to be published on 21 January.
The update comes three months after larger rival Bellway announced it was abandoning its plan to take over 拢900m Crest Nicholson. A spokesperson for Crest Nicholson at the time said it 鈥渞emains confident in its standalone prospects鈥�.
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