Persimmon upbeat as forward sales grow
HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon says it is fully sold up for 2014 and has £696m in forward sales reserved beyond this year – an increase of 12% year on year.
In an update on its July to November period, the York-based group said it remains encouraged by the level of customer confidence in the UK housing market.
Visitor levels matched those of the prior year despite the tough comparatives generated by the strong growth in interest in its sites following the Government’s introduction of the Help to Buy measures last April.
The group said that, as expected, it has experienced a return to a more traditional seasonal pattern to customer activity this year with reservation rates picking up with the onset of the autumn season after the slower summer weeks.
Persimmon said that planning delays remain a problem.
“Despite the ongoing improvements to the planning system, opening new development sites without undue delay continues to be one of the industry’s main constraints,” it said.
“Whilst we have successfully opened 80 of the 100 new sites planned for the second half of the year, our desire to modestly increase our overall outlet numbers remains a challenge. We are currently selling homes from c.375 active development sites.”
Persimmon said it remains confident of delivering further growth in group operating profits in the second half of the year from both improved gross margins and tightly controlled overheads.
It also said it expects a substantial level of cash holding by the year end even after allowing for the ongoing significant investment in land and work in progress.
