Gleeson Homes said that it had continued to see a “lack of conviction” throughout autumn despite an increase in its net reservation rates.
For the period from 1 July to 1 November 2024, Gleeson saw its reservation rate climb to 0.56 per site per week from 0.45 for the same period in 2023. It said that despite the year-on-year improvement, it had continued to see difficult trading conditions continue to have an impact into the autumn period.
On a positive note, the housebuilder said that it was hopeful that the recent interest rate cut could “bolster buyer confidence into the important spring selling season”.
Gleeson’s trading update said that the housebuilder was experiencing continued pressure on its margins as a result of a lack of growth in selling prices, increased build costs, more reliance on higher sales incentives and the effect of multi-unit sales.
The housebuilder’s statement said that it had begun a new programme of new site openings, having opened seven new sales sites in the financial year and predicting the opening of 27 sales sites during the year. This is a significant increase on the four opened last year, but in total Gleeson will sell on fewer sites than in 2023.
The update said: “As the wider market improves, we remain confident in Gleeson Homes’ ability to fulfil ambitious programme of site openings which will drive the exciting sector-leading growth planned for FY2026 and beyond.”
Gleeson said that it anticipates its FY 2025 to remain in line with its previous expectations, with group pre-tax profit totalling around £28.1million. As previously indicated, the housebuilder’s full-year results would be more heavily weighted towards the second part of the year “than usual”.
Gleeson’s land division saw strong demand from large and medium-sized developers during the reporting period and said that it was continuing to promote several land opportunities. It said that it also expects the NPPF reform to beneficially impact the timing of certain sites.
