Persimmon sales ahead as it sees Budget boost for housing market
HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon will tell shareholders at its AGM today that it has enjoyed a good start to the year and it expects to benefit from Budget measures to boost the housing market.
The York-based company, which holds its AGM at York Racecourse at noon today, said this morning that visitor levels to its housing developments over the first 15 weeks of 2013 are up 5% on last with and cancellation rates are slightly improved year on year at 16%.
It said it would be paying a dividend of 10p per share in 2014.
The group has 385 current sites and said in the first 15 weeks of the year weekly private sales per site were 4% ahead while total forward sales for the current year are £1.38bn, up 11% on last year.
Chairman Nicholas Wrigley said that since a series of measures were announced to encourage lending to homebuyers in the Budget in March, Persimmon had seen enquiry levels increase by 30% on the same time last year compared to a 24% rise before the Budget.
He said: “Whilst it remains too early to measure any increase in legal completions as a result of the ‘Help to Buy’ Scheme, we remain confident of the strength of underlying demand for new homes in the UK and that these measures will support an increase in the number of new homes delivered by the industry over the medium term.
Today’s AGM will also see the retirement of chief executive Mike Farley after 30 years with the company. He is succeeded by group managing director Jeff Fairburn.
