Vistry could build up to 40,000 homes a year with right government support, says partnerships chief

Vistry’s executive team believes it could build as many as 40,000 homes a year if the government follows through on its plans for housing and planning reform.

The housebuilding giant built 16,118 homes in 2023 and has said it is confident of building 18,000 this year, which would likely see it eclipse Barratt as the country’s biggest housebuilder.

In a recent results call, chief executive Greg Fitzgerald is understood to have said that the company believes it could build between 30,000 and 40,000 homes annually.

Speaking to Housing Today, Vistry’s partnerships chief, Stephen Teagle, confirmed the ambition.

“We want to respond to the government’s challenge to deliver more homes more quickly,” he said, explaining that the firm believed it could deliver more “using our MMC, using our great relationships with our partners”.

“We are challenging ourselves to see if we can deliver at scale,” he said.

Teagle stressed that the company was still building towards its stated target of building 25,000 homes a year within three years, but said Vistry was “focused on whether we can deliver more, more quickly”.

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He said that moving toward the higher target would rely on the government’s actions to support the housebuilding sector, saying that it would be possible “in an environment where planning is more functional and where our partners are funded in order to procure homes”.

It comes as Vistry announces it is commencing its share buyback programme to repurchase £130m of ordinary shares of 50 pence each.

The buyback programme was announced alongside the company’s half-year results and is expected to be completed by next year’s annual general meeting in May.