Latest customer satisfaction data shows Avant dropping to three-star staus

Housebuilder Avant is on track to drop to a three-star customer satisfaction rating, according to the latest data from the Home Builders’ Federation, which also show falling customer satisfaction scores across the sector.

The latest data also shows that £4.4bn-turnover listed giant Taylor Wimpey has fallen below five-star performance for the first time in three years, with Crest Nicholson and Keepmoat also below five-star.

The rolling quarterly data produced by the HBF as part of its annual customer satisfaction survey shows that all of the UK’s twelve biggest housebuilders have seen their scores fall, by an average of 0.7 percentage points in the three months, with four now tracking below a five-star rating. On average, the performance of builders has now dropped by 2.2 percentage points from the peak performance, seen in the second quarter of 2021.

However, Chesterfield-based Avant, which has embarked upon a major expansion drive since it was taken over in 2021 in an Elliott Advisers-backed deal by Berkeley de Vere, reported a score of just 77.5%, the only major player scored by HBF to register below 80%, representing a three-star performance. This is a drop of more than 15 percentage points from its customer satisfaction score at the end of 2020.

The result comes after concerns were registered over quality during the takeover of £667m-turnover Avant, which was spearheaded by controversial ex-Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn. Fairburn was forced to step down from Persimmon due to quality concerns over the product and controversy over a £75m bonus.

Fairburn’s takeover at Avant prompted the immediate departure of the executive chair, Colin Lewis, who told Housing Today at the time he was “not prepared to stay at Avant” due to concerns over the direction of the business, and that the exact reasons for his departure “will become self-evident over the coming weeks and months.”

Following Fairburn’s departure from Persimmon, an independent review of build standards commissioned by the housebuilder itself found there had been a “systemic nationwide” failure to build safe homes which was “a manifestation of poor culture coupled with the lack of a group build process”.

Avant, which operates from eight regions, has been recruiting executives in recent months to meet a plan to triple in size to sell more than 6,000 homes per annum across the North and Midlands.

Despite the result, an Avant Homes spokesperson said the “overwhelming majority” of its customers were “delighted” with their new homes. The spokesperson said the firm was participating in the New Homes Quality Code and had “put measures in place to ensure we deliver a quality service for all as we address the challenges we, and many other developers, are facing.”

“We are dedicated to delivering a high-quality product supported by excellent customer service. This will always remain our focus as we continue to implement our growth plans,” they said.

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The figures also showed that the rolling 12-month score for Taylor Wimpey had slipped below 90% for the first time since 2019, to 89.2%, and that the performance of Crest Nicholson, which is already rated a four-star builder, had fallen further, to 86.1%.

Of the major developers, Keepmoat also failed to secure a five-star score, registering 89.4%. Meanwhile, housebuilders Bloor and Cala, which is owned by L&G, secured the top customer satisfaction ratings of 94.9% and 94.1% respectively – albeit both still saw their performance fall.

All housebuilders have had a harder time delivering on site in the wake of supply chain shortages sparked by the pandemic and exacerbated by Brexit over the last couple of years, amid sky-high demand for homes.

Taylor Wimpey chief executive Jennie Daly told Housing Today earlier in the year that falls in customer satisfaction registered to date were largely the result of customers having been disappointed due to delays caused by post covid supply chain issues, rather than poor build quality, and that the company was determined to address the issue. The builder is understood to lead other listed builders on the NHBC’s Construction Quality Review score, and the firm said today that quality and service remained a key focus for the business going forward.

A spokesperson for Keepmoat said the latest data showed an improving score of 89.9%, above the published quarterly figures for the first three months of 2023. “As with all developers, scores will naturally fluctuate by a few points over the course of the year,” they said. “Keepmoat has robust systems and processes in place to support delivery and we are committed to providing high-quality new homes and an excellent service for our customers. We are confident that we are on track to retain our 5-star builder status.”

Crest Nicholson declined to comment.