Housebuilder sees 18% rise in order book in first quarter

Persimmon announced 1,027 first-quarter completions and £1.75bn in forward sales in a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting in York this morning.

Between January and March last year it had 1,136 completions and £1.69bn in forward sales.

The housebuilder said the quarter’s figures were in line with expectations. It opened 28 outlets during the quarter, bringing its total to 263 outlets, and planned 30 more by the end of June. It said was encouraged by the number of visitors to its sites. It had 82,500 plots in its portfolio at the end of March compared to 86,400 in 2023.

Chief executive Dean Finch said, “Persimmon has had a good start to the year and is on track to deliver growth in completions to between 10,000-10,500 for the full year. Our first quarter performance was in line with expectations, and we saw an improvement in sales rates alongside firm pricing. Trading over recent weeks has been encouraging with robust visitor numbers and enquiries, giving us confidence for the remainder of the year.

“Overall, our private forward order book is up 18% on the prior year with the embedded private average selling price ahead of the position at the start of the year. We are making good progress in expanding our outlet network and we will continue to position the business for success, maintaining our focus on quality and customer service, and converting our land holdings into active developments.”