Large house builder seeks bulk deals with landlords as rising mortgage costs bite

The firm’s average weekly sales rate for the period was 0.86, slightly up on the year previous, but if bulk sales were excluded, the figure drops to 0.67 from 0.82 in 2022.

Completions were down 22% to 2,847 compared with the first half of 2022, but the house builder is forecasting a good foreword sales position throughout the rest of the year.

The market update revealed that its tie-up with Countryside Partnerships is progressing well, and is on track to deliver £25m in savings it had previously announced earlier this year and a total of £60m by the end of 2024.

The £1.2bn merger completed in November 2022 and saw Vistry becoming the second-biggest house builder in the UK, behind Barratt Homes.

Vistry expects its profit before tax in 2023 to top £450m. Net debt has doubled to £330m due to the working capital requirements needed of the enlarged group following the merger, investment in its partnerships business and spending on fire safety.

Vistry said in March that it was “moving forward with urgency” to tackle fire safety works, but the firm still has 245 buildings where remediation work is yet to be completed.

Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Vistry, said: “The group delivered a half-year performance in line with our expectations, despite the challenging macroeconomic conditions and higher interest rate environment.

“Partnerships is demonstrating its resilience and remains on track to deliver revenue growth in the full year. Housebuilding is maintaining a controlled and disciplined approach, taking the opportunity to deliver bulk sales to support overall sales rates and open market pricing.

“I would like to thank our people, our subcontractors, suppliers and partners for their tremendous efforts and ongoing commitment to the success of Vistry Group.”