Housebuilder Vistry confident on 2024 as partnerships model shows resilience

By Giles Gwinnett

19 January 2024

Share

The company is targeting over 17,500 units (homes) in full year to end-December 2024

Kent-based housebuilder Vistry said it was confident about 2024 despite economic backdrop as it issued a trading update for the year to end-December, saying its partnerships model was showing resilience.

The company, formerly Bovis Homes, has expanded this side of the business where it partners with housing associations, other public sector businesses and private rented sector (PRS) providers, to deliver private, affordable and PRS housing.

It said it was seeing "good" levels of demand for affordable homes from Registered Providers (RPs), and Local Authorities (LAs), and a notable increase in demand from the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in Q4 and into 2024.

The group said its forward sales position was up 12.4% compared to the prior year at £4.5bn (£4bn as at end of 2022), which positioned it well to deliver a step-up in total completions in full year 2024.

In 2023, the firm noted that total completions were down only 5.4% to 16,124 units (pro forma FY22: 17,038), which significantly outperformed its peers in the sector and reflected the "resilience" of the partnerships model.

"The transition of our former Housebuilding landbank to our Partnerships model is making good progress, as we sign new and exciting development opportunities with our partners," said Vistry.

"The easing of mortgage rates in recent weeks is encouraging and we are optimistic that this will help stimulate demand in FY24," it added.

"We believe the country's housing crisis will be at the top of the political agenda over the coming months and that Government will need to allocate more funding towards housing," the FTSE 250 firm said.

"As the leading Partnerships business with strong growth ambitions, Vistry is extremely well positioned to play its part in increasing the delivery of much needed affordable homes across the country."

Vistry said it expected to report full year 2023 adjusted profit before tax ahead of its guidance from October last year of £410 million.

Visit Hampshire Biz News for bright, upbeat and positive business news from the county

By Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.