Vistry ‘confident’ it will hit 18,000 completions in 2024

Vistry has reported an 8% increase in completions in the first half of the year.

The housebuilder, in a trading update today, said it completed 7,750 homes in the six months to 30 June, up from 7,143 in the same period the previous year.

Vistry also said it is “confident” it can build 18,000 homes in 2024 as a whole. This figure would eclipse the 17,206 homes delivered by Britain’s biggest housebuilder Barratt last year.

Vistry’s strategy in recent months has shifted towards large forward sale agreements with investors – in which it signs deals to pre-sell homes in schemes.

In May it announced a £580m sale of 1,750 homes across 36 developments to Leaf Living, a PRS housing manager backed by Blackstone and Regis.

Three quarters of Vistry’s completions in the half-year have been ‘partner-funded’ deals, including deals with housing associations and local authorities such as section 106 affordable housing pre-sales, with a quarter for direct open market sale.

Vistry said it expects this percentage of partner-funded homes to drop to 65% after 2024 as the open market recovers.

Vistry’s forward sales for the half year are up 21% year-on-year at £5.1bn.

Forward sales are up 21% on the prior year and total £5.1bn (2023: £4.2bn), while its net debt has fallen from £329m to £323m. Its adjusted pre-tax profit rose 7% to £186m.

>>See also: ‘I’m extremely demanding’: Greg Fitzgerald on delivering the Vistry growth plan

>>See also: Vistry strikes 1,750-home deal with Blackstone and Regis

Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Vistry Group, said: “The group has delivered a strong performance in the first half which underpins the Board’s confidence in its expectations for the full year.

“Our partnerships model is significantly outperforming the broader housebuilding market and we are confident we will deliver over 18,000 completions for the full year and make progress towards our medium term targets.

“We look forward to working with the new government to address the country’s housing crisis and are extremely well placed to support its ambition of delivering the biggest boost to affordable housing in a generation.”