Crest Nicholson’s latest trading update announced that, after a challenging 2024, the housebuilder has made an “encouraging start” to the year.
Crest said that new operational and sales improvement initiatives had played a key role in its improving performance.
Ahead of its Capital Markets Day for institutional investors and analysts, the developer said that its open market sales rate, not including bulk sales, had risen to 0.61 for the 10-week period to March 14, up from 0.50 at the end of the previous financial year up to October 31 2024.
Crest said that “self-help initiatives including ongoing training and upskilling of the sales team, revised incentive schemes and enhancing our product offering” supported the uptick in sales rate.
The housebuilder said that it remains on track to achieve its forecasted results for the financial year, with its cash performance currently in a better position than expected for the financial year so far.
The housebuilder’s CEO, Martyn Clark, and chief financial officer, Bill Floydd, will deliver the company’s strategy at its Capital Markets Day, aiming to position the business for “sustainable growth and returns”.
This includes a target of mid-single-digit percentage growth in home completions over the five years to deliver over 2,300 homes per year. For the last financial year, Crest recorded 1,047 open market private completions compared to 1,222 in 2023.
For the same five-year period, Crest is aiming to increase its average annual improvement to gross margins of 100 to 150 basis points a year to reach 20% and above.
Crest’s CEO, Martyn Clark, said: “I am pleased to see early signs of progress from our operational and sales improvement initiatives, reflecting our continued commitment to strengthening the group’s performance and delivering value. While it is still early days, these efforts are beginning to make a positive impact.”
“My initial focus on joining the business was to identify and address the issues that have held the business back. Since then, my team and I have devoted ourselves to identifying the market opportunity for Crest and planning for our future.”
“We are focused on unlocking the significant opportunity in the mid-premium segment of the market, through becoming truly customer-centric, driving operational excellence and optimising our land portfolio to maximise value creation. We are excited about the road ahead and are clear on what we need to do to ensure success.”
