Vistry delivers a strong second-half recovery while securing land for future expansion
Vistry Group has reported adjusted profit before tax of around £270 million for the year ended 31 December 2025, up from £263.5 million the previous year, despite completing nearly 9% fewer homes.
The housebuilder delivered approximately 15,700 units during the year, down from 17,225 in 2024.
However, revenue remained broadly flat at £4.2 billion, supported by a 3% increase in average selling prices to £282,000, primarily reflecting geographical mix changes. Investors should be encouraged by performance during the period.
But the backdrop of a slow UK property market weighed on the stock on Wednesday and shares fell by more than 8%.
Partnership focus delivers margin gains
The group’s distinctive partnership-focused strategy demonstrated resilience amid challenging open-market conditions over the past year. Partner-funded homes accounted for 74% of completions, maintaining the previous year’s mix, whilst open market volumes fell 11% to around 4,100 units.
Operating margins improved significantly, rising from 6.7% in the first half to 8.4% for the full year. This improvement was driven by the commencement of higher-margin developments, increased operating leverage, and reduced impact from previous cost issues in the former South division.
Partner-funded completions decreased 8% to approximately 11,600 units, mainly reflecting funding uncertainty in the first half.
Affordable housing volumes surged 30% in the second half following June’s Spending Review, which provided greater clarity on future funding. However, the Private Rented Sector (PRS), also known as Build to Rent, saw volumes decline by around 25% as several active partners paused deliveries for refinancing.
The wider UK property market is proving to be a constraint for the group. Vistry’s sales rate averaged 0.96 homes per site per week, down from 1.07, as uncertainty surrounding the Autumn Budget created a more subdued market in Q3 and early Q4. To combat the slowdown, Vistry supported its open-market strategy with incentives of up to 6% of the sale price to help encourage buyers.
Strategic land acquisition
Taking advantage of subdued market conditions, Vistry secured approximately 9,500 plots across 30 sites in the second half.
Notable acquisitions included three large strategic sites in Worcester, Rugeley and Bury St Edmunds, totalling some 5,000 plots between them.
The company also received the maximum £50 million award from Homes England as part of £2 billion additional grant funding for 2021-26, recognising its performance as a Strategic Partner. This is expected during Q2 2026.
“Our partnership housing strategy positions us well to play a key role in the delivery of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) 2026-2036,” said Greg Fitzgerald, Chief Executive.
“We will be targeting early deployment of allocations for our partners and ourselves to kick start the growth of affordable housing supply and we expect this to contribute to our second half performance in 2026. Encouragingly, we have already completed a first site acquisition for the Group’s joint venture with Homes England.”
Build cost inflation remained in low single digits, benefiting from the group’s scale and focus on standardisation. Vistry Works delivered over 4,600 timber frame units, up from 2,900 the previous year. Land sales contributed approximately £200 million of revenue, well above the prior year’s £91 million.
Net debt stood at approximately £145 million at year-end, down from £180.7 million, though average daily net debt rose to around £730 million from £698 million, reflecting higher opening debt and delayed partner-funded deals in late 2025.
Vistry is in a good position and should see further progress in 2026. The group enters the new period with forward sales of approximately £4 billion, and management believes government initiatives to boost house building will drive increased activity in the second half, whilst PRS pricing should strengthen as partners respond to portfolio delivery opportunities.
While Vistry is well-positioned to capture growth, it remains reliant on external factors beyond its control.