You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Crest Nicholson sets aside £13m for fire-related legal claim amid another profit warning
Crest Nicholson has lowered its profit forecast again after it set aside £13m for a legal claim relating to fire damage at one of its schemes.
The FTSE 250 house builder downgraded its annual profit forecast for the third time in six months to £41m before tax.
It had previously lowered its profit forecast from £73.7m to £50m in August and again from £50m to £45m in November.
In a stock market update, the firm revealed that it had set aside an “exceptional charge” of £13m for a legal claim related to a scheme it built that was damaged by fire in 2021.
READ MORE
Crest Nicholson would not comment further on the legal claim when asked by Inside Housing, although it did confirm that the block in question was a “low-rise apartment scheme”.
It did clarify that the legal claim was “unrelated” to the general fire remediation programme the group is currently working on.
The firm also identified further costs on “legacy sites” such as Brightwells Yard in Farnham, Surrey.
It won the contract to build the mixed-use regeneration project in 2003, but the site is only now reaching completion after trouble securing financial backers and a series of planning, legal and construction delays.
A total of £16m has now been set aside to cover losses on the scheme.
On its current sales, the house builder said it was “too early to gauge customer behaviour” but it had been “encouraged by an increase in customer interest levels and enquiries” this calendar year following a recent reduction in mortgage rates.
Crest Nicholson will publish its preliminary results on 23 January.
Sign up for our development and finance newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
