REG - Crest Nicholson Hdgs - Trading Update

Crest Nicholson HoldingsAnnouncement

19/03/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240319:nRSS3177Ha&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3177H  Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC  19 March 2024

 

The information contained in this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market
Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which forms part of domestic law in the
United Kingdom pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc

 (the 'Group' or 'Crest Nicholson')

 

AGM

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc is holding its Annual General Meeting ('AGM') at
11:00 am today at the Group's Head Office: 500 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne
Business Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2HJ. This trading update is for the
period from 1 November 2023 to 15 March 2024. The Company's FY24 year end is
on 31 October 2024.

Current trading

The Group has achieved reservations in line with expectations and delivered a
year-to-date open market SPOW rate of 0.44, based on 46 outlets, with reduced
activity before Christmas and a stronger performance from mid-January.  The
SPOW rate for the last eight weeks to 15 March 2024 improved to 0.52.  Sale
prices achieved have been in line with expectations and cancellations remained
at normalised levels. Build activity in the sector continued to operate at a
lower level which is now resulting in lower labour costs in some areas.
Overall build cost inflation has largely stabilised and at a level lower than
prior year.

The Group remains focused on improving customer service and since February
2023 has consistently achieved >90% customer satisfaction rating.

The planning system continues to be challenging. Our strong land portfolio
with several quality sites acquired last year places us in a favourable
position to mitigate planning delays and support future outlet growth.

Farnham and other legacy sites

Construction at the Farnham development and other legacy sites which are still
being completed is progressing largely as planned.

Pre 2019 completed sites

Since the publication of the FY23 results, the Group has become aware of
certain build defects predominantly on four sites that were completed prior to
2019 when the Group closed its Regeneration and London divisions. These sites
will require remediation over the next three years at an estimated cost of up
to £15m.  As a result, the Board has decided to appoint third party
consultants to provide greater assurance on the adequacy of current provisions
around these and other sites completed prior to 2019. A further update will be
provided at the Group's interim results in June.

Outlook

The Group continues to focus on optimising value and expects FY24 completions
to be in the range of 1,800 to 2,000 homes, with completions weighted
approximately 35/65% in favour of the second half of the year, reflecting the
opening order book and the low level of reservations in the first two months
of the financial year. Sales prices are expected to remain stable in FY24. Net
debt at the end of February 2024 is tracking lower than expected as a result
of lower build and land spend and this trend is expected to continue in the
remainder of the financial year.

The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on
behalf of the Company is Penny Thomas, Group Company Secretary.

For further information, please contact:

Crest Nicholson

Jenny Matthews, Head of Investor Relations
                              +44 (0) 7557 842720

Teneo
 

James Macey White / Giles Kernick
 
+44 (0) 207 260 2700

19 March 2024

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTFLFSTVSITLIS