Vistry swings to loss, but sales rate jumps after lockdown

Housebuilder Vistry Group has swung to a half-year loss as the company had to deal with weeks of lockdown at its building sites across the UK.

The company – formerly called Bovis Homes – lost £12.2 million before tax in the six months to June 30 after it made £72.5 million in profit a year earlier.

It came even as revenue jumped by 28% to £606.4 million and it completed 5% more homes, at 1,724.

“Housebuilding’s first half performance was significantly impacted by the lockdown and resultant site closures,” said chief executive Greg Fitzgerald.

“Vistry Partnerships demonstrated its market resilience and robust revenue model and led the group to an early successful return to site, with production levels across the group now back at near normal levels.”

Since sites started to reopen, the company has seen good pickup from customers, it revealed.

The company’s weekly sales rate per active site has jumped to 0.73 since the start of the second half in July – a 20% increase and the highest seen by Bovis Homes for at least a decade.

Mr Fitzgerald told the PA news agency people are “buying from us more than they’ve ever bought in the last 10 years”.

He added: “We have seen positive sales trends since early May, with consumer interest higher than at any time in recent years.”

Sale prices also remain “robust”, according to the group.

Vistry now expects pre-tax profit to reach between £130 million and £140 million over the whole year, and is forecasting at least £310 million next year if prices, production and sales rates remain equal.

The company was formed in January, after Bovis Homes merged with Linden Homes, which it had bought for £1.1 billion from Galliford Try.

It has made cost savings of £44 million from the integration, £9 million ahead of the original target.

The group confirmed it has axed 360 jobs as part of the cost savings – between 50 and 60 more than it first warned over in February – and closed four regional offices, leaving it with 13.

“We moved quickly to integrate Linden Homes and Vistry Partnerships at the start of the year,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“It has been a successful process bringing together the best from each business, with the benefits from the combination expected to be ahead of our initial target.”