Vistry is to halve its operating regions and withdraw from open-market exposure in the South East as the housebuilder unveils a major restructuring alongside a £661.3m first-half loss.
The group will consolidate from 25 operating regions to 12 and reduce its owned land bank from 51,000 to 36,000 plots as it becomes a smaller and more focused mixed-tenure housebuilder.
Its South East operations will move to a fully pre-sold model, although existing joint venture schemes are expected to continue selling homes on the open market while those sites complete.
Vistry is targeting around 12,000 completions a year over the medium term, with approximately 60% Partner Funded and 40% Open Market, while increasing its exposure to the North, Midlands and West.
MAJOR RESTRUCTURE
The changes follow a review led by Chief Executive Adam Daniels (main picture, inset), who took over in April and concludes that Vistry needs greater operational control, improved cash generation and more disciplined capital allocation.
Daniels says: “The review confirms that Vistry has strong fundamentals: a differentiated mixed-tenure model, deep partner relationships, a quality product, exposure to structurally attractive affordable and partner-backed housing markets and highly motivated people.
“Whilst the challenges we have experienced in the last couple of years have been exacerbated by market headwinds, the review has also made clear that our execution, regional discipline and capital allocation have not been consistent enough.”
Vistry has identified £50m a year of overhead savings from fewer regions, flatter structures and lower volumes. This comes on top of £25m previously identified through its voluntary exit scheme and recruitment freeze.
£661M LOSS
The restructuring comes as Vistry reports a statutory pre-tax loss of £661.3m for the six months to June, compared with a £40.9m profit a year earlier.
The result includes a £475m goodwill impairment and an additional £73.2m building-safety provision.
On an adjusted basis, Vistry records a pre-tax loss of £83.3m against an £80.6m profit last year, while completions fall 8% to 6,304 and adjusted revenue drops 9% to £1.7bn. Net debt rises to £468.8m from £293.1m.
TOUGHER SALES MARKET
Vistry also reports more challenging open-market conditions over the summer as weaker consumer confidence, affordability pressures and wider economic uncertainty hit demand.
Its open-market sales rate slowed to 0.3 reservations per outlet per week, while disappointing private home sales contributed to the group reducing its year-end cash expectations.
Daniels says Vistry will emerge as a smaller and more geographically focused business, adding: “We are committed to entering 2027 on the right footing and following the actions taken, do not anticipate any need to raise equity.”
