Affordable homes firm, Gleeson Homes, has outlined plans to save £4million a year as its latest half-year figures show pre-tax profit dropped by a third.
The results showed a reduction of 34%, from £24.7million to £16.1million for the six months to 31 December 2022, with turnover dropping by 1.4% in this period to £171million.
The measures include a restructure that will see roles reduced by 15% compared to November 2022 in a bid to operate in a more lean and efficient way. The company had already implemented a recruitment freeze in November, which has resulted in around 10% of these roles already being vacated and not filled. As a result, the remaining 5% will be made redundant, which equates to around 50 members of staff.
The restructure will see three divisions merged into two – Northern and Central – with regional teams now operating in a single structure. Six management teams will now operate in nine operating regions. The housebuilder also plans to slow building rates on its current sites.
Despite the negative results, the company has said there are signs that buyer confidence is growing again, with net reservations in the new year double that of the ten weeks before Christmas.
Graham Prothero, chief executive officer of Gleeson, said: “At the same time as managing through the lower levels of current market demand, I want to ensure that the Group is in the best possible shape to take advantage of the recovery which we are beginning to see early signs of.”
“Building on the strong platform I have inherited, my focus is on optimising our organisational structure and making us more operationally efficient and fit for further growth. This will also result in significant annualised savings of circa £4million.”
