REG - Vistry Group PLC - Full year results for the year ended 31 Dec 2024
26/03/2025 07:16
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RNS Number : 1550C Vistry Group PLC 26 March 2025
26 March 2025
Full year results for the year ended 31 December 2024
Vistry Group PLC (the Group) announces it full year results for the year ended
31 December 2024.
Greg Fitzgerald, Chief Executive commented:
"2024 was a challenging year for the Group resulting in a disappointing
financial performance, despite strong growth in completions and revenue. We
have concluded a rigorous set of reviews and year end procedures with no
further issues being identified, and much work has been done to ensure the
Group has the right people, structure, systems and controls in place to move
forward with confidence.
"Our focus is now firmly on the future and executing our differentiated
partnerships strategy. We are pleased to see the Government bring forward a
further £2 billion of much-needed funding for affordable homes, and will be
seeking to progress as quickly as possible with our partners to deliver
quality new homes across the country. We continue to drive a capital light,
high return model, with a targeted 40% return on capital employed in the
medium term.
"Finally, demonstrating that the Group retains a strong financial position
remains a top priority for 2025 and we expect to deliver improved cash
generation and reduce net debt through the year."
£m unless otherwise stated 2024 2023 restated(2) Change
Adjusted basis1
Total completions (number) 17,225 16,118 +7%
Revenue 4,329.2 4,042.1 +7%
Operating profit 358.2 476.1 -25%
Operating profit margin 8.3% 11.8% -3.5ppts
Profit before tax 263.5 407.3 -35%
Basic earnings per share 55.9p 85.8p -35%
Return on capital employed(3) 14.6% 20.9% -6.3ppts
Reported basis
Revenue 3,779.3 3,564.2 +6%
Operating profit 167.0 300.0 -44%
Profit before tax 104.9 293.0 -64%
Basic earnings per share 22.0p 62.1p -65%
Net debt (180.7) (88.8) -103%
(1) Completions include 100% of joint ventures. All other financials are
shown on an adjusted basis to include the proportional contribution of the
joint venture and to exclude amortisation of acquired intangible assets and
exceptional items.
(2) The results for 2023 have been restated to correct the prior year error
that arose due to the cost forecasting issue in the South Division.
FY24 headlines
· Total completions increased by 7% to 17,225 units (FY23: 16,118
units) with Partner Funded completions up by 18% to 12,633 units (FY23: 10,722
units) and Open Market completions down by 15% to 4,592 units (FY23: 5,396
units), and average selling prices remaining firm
· Delivering high quality much needed new homes is the Group's top
priority, and we expect to be awarded a 5-Star HBF Customer Satisfaction
rating for the sixth consecutive year in 2025
· The Group significantly underperformed financially in the year,
reporting adjusted profit before tax of £263.5m (FY23: £407.3m)
· The issues relating to the forecasting of costs in the South Division
were identified during the year and as previously reported, had a total impact
of £165m
· Following year end procedures, the phasing of the impact of the South
Division has been adjusted to include a £20.5m restatement to prior years and
the net impact on FY24 adjusted profit before tax has been revised to £91.5m,
as compared to the previously expected £105m
· The Group continued to secure attractive new land and development
opportunities throughout FY24, totalling 16,508 (FY23: 15,288) mixed tenure
plots
· The Group has increased its building safety provision by £117.1m in
FY24 largely due to additional buildings identified as needing remediation.
This has driven a net increase in the total provision as at 31 December 2024
of £35.4m to £324.4m (31 December 2023: £289.0m)
· Group net debt position of £180.7m as at 31 December 2024 (31
December 2023: £88.8m)
Cash generation and capital allocation
· Ensuring the Group retains a strong financial position remains a key
priority for FY25. The Group expects to deliver improved cash generation
resulting in a steady reduction in average net borrowings through the year and
a year-on-year reduction in the Group's net debt as at 31 December 2025
· The Group is targeting a c. £200m reduction in excess working
capital in FY25, addressing a build-up of Open Market stock units in FY24.
Tighter cash controls have been introduced at a site level, and there is
weekly monitoring at an executive level
· The Group is also looking at ways to accelerate the cash release from
its former Housebuilding landbank with options including bulk sales and
discounting under consideration
· In September 2024, the Group announced a total capital distribution
of £130m comprising a £55m ordinary distribution in respect of the H1 24
earnings and a £75m special distribution. The Group has completed £38m to
date and expects to complete the remaining £92m via share buyback, to be
concluded in H1 2026
· Reflecting the performance in FY24, the Group is not proposing any
final ordinary distribution in respect of the FY24 adjusted earnings. Future
distributions will be made in accordance with Group's capital allocation
policy
Government stimulus
· The Government is committed to addressing the country's acute housing
crisis and is implementing a range of much-needed demand and supply side
initiatives to support this ambition
· The recent announcement of a £2 billion injection of new affordable
homes grant funding is very positive, and alongside the £800m of top-up
funding previously announced, will drive investment momentum across the
affordable housing sector ahead of the launch of the 2026 Affordable Homes
Programme
· We have also seen strong progress with supply side initiatives
particularly focused on land release and planning
· The Construction Skills Mission Board will address skills shortages,
overseeing a £600m package aimed at training 60,000 construction workers by
2029
Current trading and FY25 outlook
· Group's forward order book totals £4.4bn (14 March 2024: £4.6bn),
with 65% (FY24: 65%) of forecast FY25 units secured
· The Group sales rate of 0.59 (2024: 0.81) sales per site per week for
the year to date is down on prior year reflecting a low volume of Partner
Funded transactions in the first quarter
· We expect Partner Funded activity to step-up as the new £2bn of
affordable housing funding is allocated, with a greater H2 weighting of
Partner Funded delivery for the Group in FY25
· We are expecting overall Partner Funded volumes in FY25 to be at a
similar level to FY24, with strong momentum going into FY26
· In the Open Market, we have seen some uptick in our sales rate in the
past four weeks and expect this to continue to improve
· Whilst our sales outlets will continue to reduce as we roll-off
former Housebuilding sites, we expect to maintain Open Market volumes at a
similar level to FY24 in FY25
· We are seeing some upward pressure on build costs and are expecting
low single digit build cost inflation in FY25
· The Group continues to expect to make year on year progress in profit
in FY25, with profits being more H2 weighted than in prior years. H1 margins
will reflect a greater proportion of delivery from lower margin sites and some
impact on profit from actions being taken to accelerate cash generation. We
expect H2 margin recovery to be driven by the commencement of new higher
margin developments and the benefit of operating leverage from higher volumes
in the second half
Medium term
· The Group continues to target a 40% return on capital employed, a
12%+ operating margin and revenue growth of 5% to 8% p.a. in the medium term
· The Board remains confident in the Group's differentiated
partnerships strategy and expects to see good progress towards the Group's
medium-term targets as we see both a step up in partner investment supported
by Government policy, and a recovery in the Open Market
Investor Presentation
There will be an investor and analyst presentation at 8:30am today, 26 March
2025 at Numis, 45 Gresham St, London EC2V 7BF. There will also be a live
webcast of this event available on our corporate website at
www.vistrygroup.co.uk (http://www.vistrygroup.co.uk) or via the following link
https://stream.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/67a5f823836d608dd9cedaf1
(https://stream.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/67a5f823836d608dd9cedaf1)
A playback facility will be available shortly afterwards.
For further information please contact:
Vistry Group PLC
Tim Lawlor, Chief Financial Officer 020 3048 3393
Susie Bell, Group Investor Relations Director
FTI Consulting
Richard Mountain / Susanne Yule 020 3727 1340
2024 overview
Vistry's financial performance in 2024 was significantly below our
expectations at the start of the year, with the Group reporting adjusted
profit before tax of £263.5m (FY23 restated: £407.3m). The Group's
profitability in the year was significantly reduced by cost forecasting issues
in its South Division, with the impact on FY24 adjusted profit before tax
totalling £91.5m. The performance was also impacted by some delays to
concluding agreements with our Partners and other commercial transactions at
the end of the year.
There has been an extensive review process across the Group to fully
understand the cost forecasting issues, with a clear set of immediate
priorities and actions for the business. Organisational and leadership
changes have also been implemented to best position the Group going forward.
I want to thank all our employees and partners for their hard work and
commitment during what has been a challenging period.
In the year, the Group delivered a 7% increase in total units to 17,225 (FY23:
16,118), confirming Vistry's position as the country's largest homebuilder by
volume, and adjusted revenues increased by 7% to £4.3bn (FY23: £4.0bn).
The mix of total units was 73% Partner Funded and 27% Open Market, and the
Group's sales rate averaged 1.07 (FY23: 0.96) sales per site per week, up 11%
on FY23.
As a responsible developer, we work in partnership to deliver sustainable
homes, communities and social value, leaving a lasting legacy of places people
love. We are supportive of the Government's ambitions to address the
country's acute housing crisis, and the Group's Partnerships model and mixed
tenure delivery, positions us well to help deliver a significant step up in
much needed new homes across the country, in particular affordable homes.
The Government's recent announcement of a £2 billion injection of new
affordable homes grant funding is very positive, and alongside the £800m of
top-up funding previously announced, will drive investment momentum across the
affordable housing sector ahead of the launch of the 2026 Affordable Homes
Programme. As a strategic partner to Homes England, Vistry will apply for an
allocation of this top-up affordable housing grant.
The Government has made good progress in addressing the supply side
initiatives to support a significant step up in the delivery of new homes
across the country, including the restoration of mandatory housing targets,
and changes to the planning and infrastructure regulatory framework. We are
pleased to see the Government address the issue of skills shortages within the
construction industry through the establishment of the Construction Skills
Mission Board and allocation of a £600m funding package, targeted to provide
training for 60,000 construction workers by 2029.
Partner Funded demand
We saw a reasonable level of demand from our partners in 2024, signing more
than 220 new agreements with over 70 partners including registered providers
(RPs), local authorities (LAs) and private rented sector (PRS) providers.
Partner Funded units increased by 18% in FY24 to 12,633 (FY23: 10,722),
demonstrating the resilience of the Partner Funded market. Our Partner
Funded ASP increased to £236k (FY23: £222k), reflecting changes in mix.
We saw a step up in demand from PRS providers in the year with PRS sales
representing 21% of total unit sales, up from 13% in FY23. S106 affordable
housing represented 27% of total units in FY24 (FY23: 28%) and additional
affordable was 25% (FY23: 26%) of total units.
The need to invest in the maintenance and remediation of existing housing
stock continued to impact the demand for new housing from some traditional
RPs, particularly in London in the year, and we worked closely with our
partners to ensure Vistry remains their partner of choice for their new
housing investment. For profit registered providers are less impacted by
these issues and continued to be a growth subsector of this market.
Demand from affordable housing partners slowed somewhat in Q3 24 ahead of the
outcome of the Autumn Budget at the end of October. Whilst the additional
£500m affordable housing grant announced with this budget, and the further
£300m announced in February 2025 were positively received, ongoing
uncertainty around the timing and quantum of future Government funding for
affordable housing, led to subdued levels of partner demand in Q4 24 and Q1
25.
Open Market demand
Open Market sales decreased by 15% to 4,592 (FY23: 5,396) units in FY24, with
our Open Market sales performance in the year below our expectations at the
start of 2024.
The expected interest rate cuts during 2024 did not materialise, and the open
market remained constrained reflecting ongoing mortgage affordability
challenges, particularly for first time buyers. The Group's Open Market
average sales price remained firm at £385k (FY23: £390k), with our Open
Market sales programme supported with incentives of up to c. 5% of the Open
Market sales price.
Forecast cost issues within the Group's South Division
On 8 October 2024, the Group reported it had become aware of the
underestimation of the total full-life cost projections to complete several of
its developments in its South Division. The South Division was one of the
Group's six divisions and consisted of four regional business units. The
issues were predominantly on developments which formed part of the Group's
former Housebuilding business and where there was also a high concentration of
former Housebuilding management.
Group management acted promptly and an extensive programme of independent and
internal reviews was initiated to verify the nature and scope of the issues,
confirm the impact, and determine any resultant actions required. Changes to
the Division's management team were also implemented.
The independent review was carried out over four weeks by the forensics team
of a large accounting firm and reported to the Chair of the Audit Committee.
The scope of the review was primarily focused on the cost reporting process,
culture and management in the South Division. It also included a wider
review across the Group to ascertain if similar issues existed in other parts
of the business.
In addition to the work undertaken by the independent reviews, additional
internal investigations and review processes were conducted which included
deep-dive reviews of all four regions in the South Division, mandated detailed
Cost Value Reconciliations (CVRs), and balance sheet reviews for all other
regions.
The reviews concluded that the significant issues were found to be confined to
the South Division and were attributed to insufficient management capability,
non-compliant commercial forecasting processes and poor divisional culture.
The management team of the South Division and the four regional businesses
were all from the Group's former Housebuilding business and the independent
review highlighted pressure being felt from organisational change as a
fundamental driver underlying the issues in the South Division. The
independent review found little evidence of similar issues to those identified
in the South Division in other divisions.
A total of 18 sites in the South Division required adjustments to their
full-life costs of more than £1m, with five large, multi-phase sites
accounting for 60% of the full-life costs movements. The understated costs
in the CVRs were found to be from a wide range of cost types and symptomatic
of general control issues, rather than any one particular cost type. The
issues in the South Division resulted in a total of £165m of costs
adjustments including a £91.5m impact to adjusted profit before tax in FY24
and a £53m impact in future years.
In addition, there were a number of small value adjustments from the detailed
CVR and other reviews carried out across the other 22 regions, which in
aggregate resulted in a reduction to the Group's adjusted profit before tax in
FY24 of £8m.
The management team and Board considered the findings of all the review work
performed and outlined actions to address the issues and enhance the control
environment across the Group. Below is an update on each.
Leadership and structure - With a focus on reducing the length of reporting
lines and ensuring closer proximity of the CEO to the business, the Chief
Operating Officer role was removed from the organisational structure. In
addition, the Group's divisional structure has been consolidated from six
divisions into three divisions, each with an Executive Chair with extensive
Partnerships experience reporting to the CEO. The four regional businesses
in the former South Division have been separated across two of the three new
divisions, with two regional businesses in each. Our priority is to
establish strength and breadth of management excellence in each, and we are
making progress.
Commercial assurance - Vistry has carried out a root and branch review of its
commercial procedures and controls to ensure opportunities for further cost
reporting inaccuracies does not exist. Some changes were implemented and
became effective from January. Assurance is provided by regional, divisional
and Group participation in monthly cost and value reviews for all live
projects.
The Executive Leadership Team ("ELT") met with each regional board during
January 2025 and set out expectations for standardisation and adherence to
policy and procedure. The implementation of the changes to the Life of Site
processes are being closely monitored, and internal audit will be reviewing
compliance across the business during the year.
Training and support - Training of Vistry colleagues that contribute to the
commercial management of projects has taken place and support is provided on a
monthly basis through additional expertise attending each site cost and value
review.
Culture and whistle-blowing - A new Vistry Culture Book was launched in the
second half of the year, which presented and promoted behaviours to help all
employees act in line with our purpose, ethos and values. Internal
communications have been issued which reemphasised the importance of our ethos
of 'Do the Right Thing' along with our 'Speak Up' service, enabling our people
to report on any concerns confidentially. The ELT has worked with our
leadership teams across the business to ensure we are creating psychologically
safe working environments where employees can raise concerns that are dealt
with constructively. More in depth culture and behaviour sessions are being
rolled out across the business.
Build and Vistry Works
The Group operated from an average of 367 (FY23: c. 350) build outlets during
FY24 which included 203 (FY23: 223) active sales outlets. Build outlets
includes sites which are not currently selling to the Open Market either
because Open Market sales are yet to commence or have already been completed,
and sites which are 100% Partner Funded and therefore have no Open Market
sales.
Overall, the Group saw good availability of build materials during FY24. The
Group secures c.90% of its materials centrally through its highly experienced
group commercial team, with supply contracts typically for 12 to 24 months.
The Group managed to mitigate underlying build cost inflation in FY24 through
its benefits of scale, visibility of revenues and efficiency gains, resulting
in neutral build cost inflation for the Group in the year. We are starting
to see some build cost pressure and whilst we will continue to mitigate this
where possible, the Group is expecting low single digit build cost inflation
in FY25.
Timber frame construction is at the core of Vistry's operational and
sustainability strategy. Compared to traditional brick and block
construction, timber frame enables a faster build time of approximately six
weeks and is shown to reduce embodied carbon by c. 30% over a 60-year
timeframe. The increased use of timber frame will also reduce the Group's
dependency on labour over the medium term.
The Group's operations manufactured 2,900 timber frame units in FY24 (FY23:
2,500) and floor joists for 2,650 units. The manufacture of roof trusses was
added to the production line towards the end of the year. The Group expects to
increase this output in FY25 to 4,000 to 5,000 timber frame units, floor
joists for c. 5,000 units and roof trusses for c. 6,000 units.
We are increasing annual capacity from our existing three facilities to
between 10,000 to 12,000 timber frame units, roof trusses for 10,000 units and
floor joists for 6,000 units in 2026 and beyond.
With the new Vistry placemaking and plotting guidance in place to ensure the
places we create remain characterful, attractive places people love, the Group
has been working hard on standardising product and the new Vistry Collection
of 60 standard house types. This product standardisation will drive
manufacturing efficiencies.
Securing high quality Partnership opportunities
During 2024, the Group secured a strong pipeline of attractive new land and
development opportunities totalling 16,508 (FY23: 15,288) mixed tenure units
across 62 sites. The Group is well positioned to secure land through both
public procurement and the purchase of private land. In the year, 35% of the
land plots secured were from public land sources and 61% from the private
market.
Strategic land is an important source of development opportunities and the
Group's strategic land bank totalled 76,219 plots (31 December 2023: 70,780)
as at 31 December 2024. With a more favourable planning environment, the
Group expects to increase the pull through from its strategic landbank over
the medium term.
The Government has continued to reform the planning system with updates to the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December 2024 and corresponding
updates to the Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) at the same time and early this
year. These changes are generally more permissive and positive towards
development and reintroduce targets, with decisions more in favour of
permitting sustainable development.
The Group is well positioned for land in FY25 with c. 95% of the land secured
for targeted FY25 completions.
High quality housing
Delivering high quality homes and excellent customer service is paramount and
we expect the Group to be awarded a 5-star HBF Customer Satisfaction rating
for the sixth consecutive year in 2025. The Group's HBF 8-week Customer
Satisfaction score for FY24 was 94.5% (FY23: 91.6%), with the 9-month score
increasing to 83.6% (FY23: 78.3%).
Vistry employees were awarded more than 70 quality awards during 2024,
including 42 NHBC Pride in the Job awards, 13 Premier Guarantee awards and 8
LABC awards. The Group's Construction Quality Review score averaged 4.5
(FY23: 4.5) in FY24, with the Average Reportable Items per inspection at 0.20
(FY23: 0.21).
Our People
Our people strategy is focused on attracting, retaining and developing the
best people. We were pleased to see an increase in our Peakon employee
engagement score in November to 8.2 (November 2023: 7.6 and June 2024: 8.1),
0.5 ahead of the Peakon benchmark. Voluntary turnover has remained low at
15.4% at the year-end (December 2023: 15.9%) and our stability index
(employees with over one year service) has increased from 78.1% in December
2023 to 82.3% in December 2024.
For the third year running, we received our Top Employer certification through
the Top Employer Institute, increasing our overall score by 3.1% to 94.6%
(January 2023: 84.5% and January 2024: 91.5%), 9.6% ahead of the TEI
benchmark. We also achieved fifth position in the top 50 Inspiring
Workplaces of UK and Ireland (Global position: 64), with well-being and
employee voice recognised as the strongest elements.
We continue to develop our people through our leadership development
programmes and 132 employees completed a programme during 2024. This number
includes 45 females completing our externally run Women in Leadership
programme which consists of three sessions with an external coach and access
to an internal mentor.
In November 2024, we were proud to retain our gold accreditation membership
with the 5% Club. This recognises our significant contribution to the
continued development of all our employees through Earn & Learn schemes
such as apprenticeships, graduate schemes and sponsored student course
placements.
In 2024, we welcomed 17 new RISE Trainees and 26 new graduates to our 2024/25
cohorts. The RISE trainees will follow a Level 4 higher apprenticeship
before advancing to a degree apprenticeship, and the graduates will follow one
of four career pathways: Construction, Commercial, Design & Technical, and
Real Estate. In addition, we have supported over 200 learners through formal
qualifications which include existing employees enhancing their skills though
apprenticeships, professional qualifications and other educational
sponsorship.
Health and safety
In July 2023, we changed how we measure Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE)
performance across our premises and sites. The objective was to improve the
behavioural culture and drive continued improvement to reduce work-related
injuries. The metrics used to score performance became more stringent and
gave us better trend analysis. We are proud to report that improvements
continue to manifest across our sites, and we are currently reporting
performance levels that far exceedthe Group's targets.
Our Accident Incident Rate (AIR) demonstrates our commitment to continually
improving standards across our sites and we do everything we can to mitigate
or at least reduce work-related injury. In line with previous years, it
still sat well below the industry benchmark at the end of 2024 at 210,
compared to the HSE industry average (341).
Damage to buried utility services remains an industry challenge and we
continue to work closely with our peers via the Home Builders Federation (HBF)
to seek new technology and initiatives to reduce the risk of injury. Our
service strike incident rate was 342 at the end of 2024 compared to 349 at the
end of 2023, which showed a slight improvement. We remain committed to
working with our people to adopt better and safer practices leading to a
future reduction.
Building safety
The Group's building safety provision recognises the Group's commitment to
playing its part in delivering a lasting industry solution to building safety
and the Group's obligations under the Developer Remediation Contract signed by
Vistry in March 2023.
Over the past six months, management has re-evaluated the appropriate level of
building safety provision. As a result, the Group has increased its building
safety provision by £117.1m in FY24, with a total provision of £324.4m as at
31 December 2024 (31 December 2023: £289.0m). We expect the net annual cash
costs of Building Safety in FY25 to be c. £65m.
This increase reflects a rise in third party claims due to the implementation
of regulatory changes, which has broadened the types of issues that are now
considered a risk to occupant safety, as well as an increase in the historical
time period for which the developer has a responsibility. The Group has
identified an additional 41 buildings requiring remediation. In addition,
there has been an increase in the costs of remediating buildings resulting
from increased scope of work and some cost inflation. The Group continues to
seek recoveries from third parties where possible and recovered £27.2m in
FY24.
CMA inquiry
On 26 February 2024, the CMA launched an investigation into suspected breaches
of competition law, relating to the exchange of competitively sensitive
information by eight housebuilders, including Vistry. On 10 January 2025,
the CMA announced that its investigation would be extended by five months to
May 2025 to allow further investigation including additional evidence
gathering and CMA analysis and review. The CMA has not reached a view as to
whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement or infringements of
competition law for it to issue a statement of objections to any party under
investigation. We continue to co-operate with the CMA in their investigation
and evidence gathering process.
Indebtedness
The Group had a net debt position of £180.7m as at 31 December 2024 (31
December 2023: £88.8m). This compares to our expectation at the start of
the year of a net cash position, the difference reflecting the reduced profit
performance of the Group in the year and a build-up of working capital and
stock. The Group's average daily net debt in FY24 was £698.1m (FY23:
£586.0m).
The Group had significant headroom against its borrowing covenants (Gearing,
Tangible Net Worth and Interest Cover) in the year, and maintained a
comfortable amount of headroom against its borrowing facilities, which total
£1,130m.
Through our focus on cash generation, we are targeting a steady reduction in
the Group's average net borrowings through FY25, a year-on-year reduction in
the Group's net debt as at 31 December 2025 and a net cash position as at 31
December 2026.
Priorities for 2025
The Group has a clear set of priorities for FY25 focused on ensuring Vistry is
best positioned to drive the business forward in the medium term.
Cash generation - the Group had higher than expected working capital levels at
the end of last year reflecting a slower Open Market sales rate in FY24 and a
resulting build up in stock. The Group is targeting releasing excess stock
and WIP of c. £200m in FY25 and work in progress controls linked to site
stock positions have been introduced and are monitored weekly at an Executive
level.
The housebuilding landbank release has been slower than anticipated reflecting
more constrained market conditions than expected. Site by site strategies
are being reviewed and options including bulk sales and discounting are under
consideration to accelerate the roll-off and cash generation.
Embed leadership - a new divisional structure was introduced at the start of
2025, moving from six divisions to three. Each division is led by an
Executive Chair with extensive Partnerships experience who sits on the
Executive Leadership Team and reports directly to the CEO. This structure
has reduced layers and shortened reporting lines, creating greater
transparency and agility in decision making. There will be some savings
resulting from headcount reduction across the business actioned in Q1 25.
Standardise and enhance control environment - the Group updated its life of
site process in H2 24, ensuring standardisation across all regions. This has
been followed up with a clear message of compliance to all regions which will
continue to be closely monitored throughout the year. In addition,
incremental commercial expertise has been embedded into the process through
the appointment of Commercial Directors at a Divisional level, and the
appointment of Commercial Compliance Managers within the Group Commercial
team.
A new Investment Committee has been launched which oversees the approval of
land acquisitions and disposals, partner agreements, and other investment and
commercial decisions.
Capital allocation
The Board has reviewed its capital allocation policy and its view on capital
allocation hierarchy remains unchanged. Maintaining a strong balance sheet
remains is the top priority and improving cash generation and reducing the
Group's net borrowings is the Group's focus for FY25.
Investing in our Partnerships business to deliver sustainable growth and
maximise the significant market opportunity we see over the medium term is the
most attractive use of capital and the business has and continues to invest
in, high-quality development opportunities which replenish the Partnerships
land bank in Iine with its growth forecasts.
In September 2024, the Group announced a total capital distribution of £130m
comprising a £55m ordinary distribution in respect of the H1 24 earnings and
a £75m as a special distribution. The Group has completed £38m to date and
expects to complete the remaining £92m via share buyback, to be concluded in
H1 2026.
Reflecting the performance in FY24, the Group is not proposing any final
ordinary distribution in respect of the FY24 adjusted earnings. Future
distributions will be made in accordance with Group's capital allocation
policy.
Board changes
The Company announces that Helen Owers has informed the Board of her intention
to resign her position as an independent Non-Executive Director. Helen will
remain on the Board until the earlier of an appointment of a replacement
independent Non-Executive director or by the end of 2025. A further
announcement concerning the date of Helen's resignation will be made as soon
as it is decided. This announcement is made pursuant to Listing Rule 6.4.6R.
Current trading and FY25 outlook
The Group's forward order book totals £4.4bn (14 March 2024: £4.6bn), with
65% (FY24: 65%) of forecast FY25 units secured. The Group sales rate of 0.59
(2024: 0.81) sales per site per week for the year to date is down on prior
year reflecting a low volume of Partner Funded transactions in the first
quarter.
The Group's Partnership model is closely aligned to the Government's housing
ambitions and we are working closely with our partners to ensure we are well
positioned to deliver.
Following the Government's recent announcement of an additional £2bn of
affordable housing funding to the existing affordable homes programme, we
expect Partner Funded activity to step-up during the year, resulting in a
greater H2 weighting of Partner Funded delivery for the Group in FY25.
Overall, we are expecting our Partner Funded volumes in FY25 to be at a
similar level to FY24, with strong momentum going into FY26.
In the Open Market, we have seen some uptick in our sales in the past four
weeks and expect this to continue to improve. Whilst our sales outlets will
continue to reduce as we roll-off former Housebuilding sites, we expect to
maintain Open Market volumes at a similar level to FY24 in FY25.
We are seeing some upward pressure on build costs and whilst we will continue
to try and mitigate this where possible, we expect to see low single digit
build cost inflation in FY25
The Group continues to expect to make year-on-year progress in profit in FY25,
with profits being more H2 weighted than in prior years. H1 margins will
reflect a greater proportion of delivery from lower margin sites, and some
impact on profit from actions being taken to accelerate cash generation. We
expect H2 margin recovery to be driven by the commencement of new higher
margin developments and the benefit of operating leverage from higher volumes
in the second half.
The Group's focus on cash performance, including the management of work in
progress and the reduction of the housebuilding landbank, is expected to
result in a year-on-year reduction in the Group's net debt as at 31 December
2025.
Strategy and medium-term outlook
The Group remains confident in its Partnerships strategy and committed to its
capital light, high returns business model. There remains an acute need for
affordable and mixed tenure housing across the country. Addressing this
housing crisis sits at the heart of the Government's agenda, with new housing
targets set last autumn aiming to more than double the supply of affordable
homes nationwide and continue growth of the private rental sector.
With its capability and track record in Partnership housing and mixed tenure
delivery, Vistry is uniquely positioned to play a key role in supporting the
Government to deliver its plans.
Over the medium term, the Group expects to see a strong increase in demand for
mixed tenure housing driven by both a step up in Partner investment supported
by Government policy, and a recovery in the Open Market.
Whilst volumes in FY25 are expected to be similar to FY24, the Group is
targeting average revenue growth of 5% to 8% p.a. over the medium term, driven
by an increase in unit delivery. Vistry retains a national operational
footprint and will continue to evolve operational capacity and capability to
suit local demand and market conditions.
The Group is focused on a returns-based model and is targeting a 40% return on
capital employed. The roll-off of the former Housebuilding landbank will be
a key driver of the improvement in the Group ROCE. The Group is targeting an
adjusted operating margin of 12%+ which reflects a blended site margin across
its mixed tenure delivery. The Group's land acquisition hurdle rates at a
40% ROCE and 12% adjusted operating margin are aligned to these targets.
Finance review
Group performance
The result for the year was disappointing. The Group delivered growth in
revenue and completions, however, market conditions continued to be
challenging, particularly for Open Market sales, and the cost forecasting
issues that were identified in our South Division in the last quarter of the
year significantly impacted adjusted and reported profit before tax.
Group management reacted quickly to thoroughly investigate the underlying
causes of the cost forecasting issues, to ensure they were isolated to the
South Division and to make all necessary changes and improvements to remediate
them. The investigations concluded that the issues could be attributed to
insufficient management capability and poor culture in the South Division, and
non-compliance with the Group's established commercial forecasting processes.
In response, the Group has changed its divisional structures and removed the
COO role to reduce the length of reporting lines between the CEO and our
regional businesses. The Group also introduced additional controls to ensure
mandated processes were correctly followed for the year-end and in future.
The FY23 full-year results have been restated, reducing adjusted and reported
profit before tax by £11.8m and opening reserves by £6.2m. The results for
the FY24 half-year will be restated when the Group announces its results for
the FY25 half-year. This will reduce adjusted and reported profit before tax
in the FY24 half year by c. £65m. Further details on the accounting treatment
of the changes in estimates and errors is included in note 2.
The increase in the cost of building safety remediation impacted reported
profit before tax. The Group experienced a rise in the number of claims during
the second half of the year as well as higher costs on existing buildings,
primarily driven by scope increases.
Revenue and completions
On an adjusted basis, total revenue increased by 7% to £4,329.2m (FY23:
£4,042.1m), with a particularly strong increase in Partner Funded revenue of
24%. We saw good levels of demand from the Partner Funded market and secured
more than 220 new partner deals with over 70 partners. The number of Partner
Funded completions increased by 18% to 12,633 (FY23: 10,722), driven by PRS
and Additional Affordable homes. The average selling price of Partner Funded
homes increased by 6% to £236k (FY23: £222k), primarily due to PRS
completions including a greater proportion of larger, higher value homes than
in the prior year.
Open Market revenue reduced by 16%, with a reduction in the number of
completions of 15% to 4,592 (FY23: 5,396) due to subdued demand throughout the
year, primarily reflecting mortgage affordability and a much lower opening
forward order book of £298m (FY23: £610m). The Group operated from fewer
sales outlets, with the average number down 9% to 203 (FY23: 223). Discounts
offered to investors purchasing multiple completed homes and changes in the
geographic mix resulted in a slight decrease of 1% in the average selling
price to £385k (FY23: £390k). Sales incentives remained at up to 5% of the
Open Market sales price.
On a reported basis, total revenue increased by 6% to £3,779.3m (FY23:
£3,564.2m). The total number of completed homes delivered also increased by
7% to 17,225 (FY23: 16,118), with the overall average selling price broadly
consistent with the prior year at £275k (FY23: £276k). The disparity between
the strong growth in the Partner Funded market and the subdued demand for Open
Market homes resulted in an increase in the proportion of total completions
which were Partner Funded to 73% (FY23: 67%). We expect this percentage to
trend back towards our target of 65% in future years when activity levels for
Open Market homes begin to improve.
£m unless otherwise stated 2024 2023
Partner Funded Open Market Other revenue Total Total
Adjusted revenue 2,636.2 1,488.2 204.8 4,329.2 4,042.1
Add: Government grant income 39.9 22.2 - 62.1 40.4
Remove: other non-housing revenue - - (204.8) (204.8) (137.6)
Total sales price 2,676.1 1,510.4 - 4,186.5 3,944.9
Total units (at 100%) 12,633 4,592 n/a 17,225 16,118
Less: joint venture eliminations (1,311) (669) n/a (1,980) (1,836)
Units for calculation of the Average Selling Price 11,322 3,923 n/a 15,245 14,282
Average Selling Price £236k £385k n/a £275k £276k
Proportion of total units by type 73% 27% n/a 100% 100%
Operating margin
The Group managed to mitigate underlying build cost inflation in FY24 through
its benefits of scale, visibility of revenues and efficiency gains, resulting
in neutral build cost inflation for the Group in the year. We are starting to
see some build cost pressure and whilst we will continue to mitigate this
where possible, the Group is expecting single digit build cost inflation in
FY25. The average number of build outlets increased over the course of the
year to 367 (FY23: c. 350).
The cost forecasting issues in the South Division related to increases in the
total full-life cost projections for a relatively small number of sites,
including some large and complex, multi-phase schemes. There were a range of
factors that led to these increases including, procurement losses where tender
returns for certain packages came in higher than anticipated, operational
changes on sites, additional costs due to unexpected ground conditions and
asbestos contamination on specific sites, subcontractor failures and design
changes for certain aspects of schemes. The cost increases were due to
site-specific factors and were not indicative of a more general inflationary
trend. In some instances, the cost increases led to the need to impair
inventories, resulting in the full future loss on those schemes being
recognised in the current year.
Administrative expenses, excluding exceptional items, reduced by 19% to
£196.1m (FY23: £241.5m). Headcount was lower throughout FY24 following the
simplification of the Group's operating structures that completed in late
FY23. Bonus and share-based payment costs were reduced due to profit targets
not being achieved in FY24.
The Group's adjusted operating profit for the year was down 25% to £358.2m
(FY23: £476.1m), with the adjusted operating margin down 3.5ppts to 8.3%
(FY23: 11.8%). The Group's adjusted operating margin has reduced as the Group
continued to transition the higher margin, capital intensive landbank from the
Group's former Housebuilding business to the lower margin, capital light
Partnerships model. This reduction is consistent with our expectations at the
time of outlining our strategy. In the year the Group delivered an
above-target proportion of Partner Funded completions, 73% compared to our
target of 65%, due to market conditions. The cost forecasting issues in the
South Division accounted for a further 2.1ppts deterioration in FY24 and will
have an ongoing, but reducing, drag on margin in FY25 and 2026 as the impacted
sites are completed and traded out.
Reported operating profit reduced by 44% to £167.0m (FY23: £300.0m). The
decrease was greater than for adjusted operating profit as a result of the
increase in exceptional items in FY24, of which £99.9m (FY23: £46.2m) was
within operating profit.
Building safety
£m 2024 2023
Building safety provision:
Additions (117.1) (11.7)
Releases 20.9 18.6
Discount unwind (8.0) (19.4)
Building safety provision recognised in joint venture (20.9) -
Building safety recoveries 27.2 11.7
Building safety related impairment (16.8) (18.5)
Total building safety expense (114.7) (19.3)
The cost of building safety rose to £114.7m (FY23: £19.3m) as the Group
increased its provision for remediation and recognised a further impairment of
inventories.
The Group's building safety provision at the beginning of the year was
£289.0m. This increased by £117.1m, reflecting an increase of 41 buildings
following the completion of assessment of claims which were received
subsequent to the implementation of a number of regulatory changes. The
regulatory changes have broadened the types of issues which are deemed to
cause a risk to occupant safety, as well as increasing the historical period
for which the developer is responsible. In addition, the Group has experienced
some increase in tender prices and an expansion in the scope of works on some
buildings where additional issues were found during planned repairs.
During the year, one of the Group's joint ventures agreed to take
responsibility for completing remedial works on 10 buildings that it developed
and recognised a provision for the cost of these works. Accordingly, the Group
released £20.9m that it had previously recognised for its share of those
works. There was no net profit impact in the year, however the joint venture
now holds the provision and it is no longer included in the Group's provision.
The Group utilised £68.8m of the provision during the year, continuing to
make good progress with the remediation works. Work completed on 28 buildings
during the year, with work ongoing for a further 43 buildings. At year end, we
were engaged in the pre-start phase of the remediation process with 197
buildings, excluding the 10 buildings which will be remediated by one of the
Group's joint ventures. The Group continued to manage remediation work through
its specialist in-house team.
After discount unwind of £8.0m, the closing building safety provision as at
31 December 2024 was £324.4m.
£m 2024
Opening 289.0
Additions 117.1
Utilised in year (68.8)
Released as obligation transferred to joint venture (20.9)
Discount unwind 8.0
Closing 324.4
At 31 December, the number of buildings where work was ongoing or yet to
commence on site increased to 240 (FY23: 237).
The Group has continued to seek to recover costs from third parties where
possible and was successful in recovering £27.2m during the year, which was
recognised as an exceptional credit within cost of sales. Future recoveries
will only be recognised when they are secured.
In the prior year, the Group recognised an impairment of inventories of
£18.5m due to viability challenges on schemes which are now required to
incorporate second staircases in high-rise buildings, leading to increased
costs and a loss of saleable floorspace.
During FY24, the Group continued to assess the impact of this regulatory
change on those schemes through redesign, which identified that the costs
would be greater than previously expected. This led to an additional
impairment of £16.8m.
Exceptional items
Exceptional items increased to £128.8m (FY23: £65.6m) comprising building
safety of £114.7m (£19.3m), as described above, and restructuring,
integration and other costs of £14.1m (FY23: £46.3m). Restructuring,
integration and other costs were lower than in the prior year and included
changing the Group's divisional structures in response to the issues in the
South Division.
Net finance expense
Adjusted net finance expense increased 38% to £94.7m (FY23: £68.8m). Within
this, net bank interest payable increased 33% to £57.6m due to average
borrowings rising by 19% year-on-year combined with an increase in the average
interest rate that the Group incurs on borrowings of 0.5ppts to 7.0% (FY23:
6.5%) due to the rise in the average SONIA rate.
Land creditors due after more than one year are discounted on initial
recognition using the market rate at that time, with this discount
subsequently unwound up to the date the creditor is settled. There is,
therefore, a time lag before market interest rate changes feed through into
net financing expenses. The unwind grew in FY24 due to rising discount rates
over the last two years.
£m 2024 2023 Change
Net bank interest payable (57.6) (43.4) -33%
Unwind of discount on land creditors (21.7) (11.5) -89%
Interest on finance leases (5.4) (5.5) +2%
Net interest on defined benefit pension schemes 1.6 1.7 -6%
Net joint venture interest payable (11.6) (10.1) -15%
Adjusted net finance expense (94.7) (68.8) -38%
Profit before tax
Adjusted profit before tax was down 35% to £263.5m (FY23: £407.3m) and
reported profit before tax was down 64% to £104.9m (FY23: £293.0m).
Tax
The adjusted tax charge was £74.6m (FY23: £110.4m), an effective tax rate of
28.3% (FY23: 27.1%).
The reported tax charge was £30.4m (FY23: £78.0m), an effective tax rate of
29.0% (FY23: 26.6%). The reported rate was broadly equal to corporation tax of
25% and Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) of 4%. The reported rate
also includes a reduction for some additional qualifying expenditure in
respect of land remediation relief, and a reduction for profits not in scope
for RPDT, which both reduced the rate, offset by prior period adjustments.
The difference between the adjusted and reported effective rates is largely
due to the presentation of a joint venture tax credit. Under IFRS, the share
of joint venture profits or losses after tax are included in profit before
tax. In the Group's adjusted measures, the Group's share of joint venture tax
is included within the adjusted tax charge.
Earnings per share
Adjusted profit for the year reduced by 36% to £188.9m (FY23: £296.9m), with
adjusted earnings per share down by 35% to 55.9p (FY23: 85.8p). The reduction
in reported earnings per share of 65% to 22.0p (FY23: 62.1p) was greater due
to the impact of exceptional items.
Capital employed and ROCE
£m 2024 2023 Change
Restated(2)
Work in progress (including part exchange properties) 1,133.3 1,198.5 -5%
Land 1,875.0 1,881.7 -
Land creditors (739.9) (662.2) -12%
Net increase in inventories 2,268.4 2,418.0 -6%
Investment in joint ventures 614.0 562.7 +9%
Other assets 874.0 738.5 +18%
Other liabilities (1,243.5) (1,308.6) +5%
Capital employed 2,512.9 2,410.6 +4%
Building safety provision (324.4) (289.0) -12%
Retirement benefit asset 31.7 34.2 -7%
Tangible net assets 2,220.2 2,155.8 +3%
Goodwill 827.6 827.6 -
Intangible assets 368.8 409.3 -10%
Net debt (180.7) (88.8) -103%
Net assets 3,235.9 3,303.9 -2%
2024 2023 Restated(2) Change
£m
Opening capital employed 2,410.6 2,139.5 +13%
Closing capital employed 2,512.9 2,410.6 +4%
Average capital employed 2,461.8 2,275.1 +8%
Closing capital employed increased by 4% to £2,512.9m (FY23: £2,410.6m),
with a slightly larger increase in the average capital employed of 8% to
£2,461.8m (FY23: £2,275.1m).
The largest component of the Group's capital employed is its net investment in
inventories. There were several factors contributing to a reduction in the
closing balance.
Firstly, the Group recorded impairment write-offs of £61.2m, including those
due to the cost forecasting issues in the South Division and the exceptional
building safety impairment of £16.8m.
Secondly, the Group established a new joint venture with the development arm
of Clarion, Latimer, to develop 1,200 homes on part of our site at Sherford,
near Plymouth. The creation of this joint venture led to a transfer of £73.6m
of work in progress from the Group's balance sheet.
Finally, land creditors increased by 12% to £739.9m (FY23: £662.2m), in line
with the Group's strategy to buy sites on deferred terms where acceptable
conditions are available. Excluding all of these factors, the underlying
position showed a build-up of work in progress of £156.0m due to the
slower-than-anticipated Open Market sales rate. Reducing this is a focus for
the Group moving into FY25.
The increase in capital employed was driven by Partner Funded receivables,
which are included within other assets in the table above, and ongoing
investment into joint ventures. Partner Funded receivables include trade
receivables, retentions and contract assets (accrued revenue). These increased
due to Partner Funded activity levels being higher in FY24 as the shift to a
fully Partnerships model took effect, particularly in the last quarter of the
year. In addition, the Group completed on a large Partner Funded contract in
December 2023, which included a catch-up valuation on work completed to date
which was cash settled at the point of completing the contract. At the end of
FY24, Partner Funded receivables reflect a more normal working capital cycle
for these types of contracts.
During FY24, the Group advanced more loans to joint ventures than were repaid
during the year, a net increase of £75.2m, to fund investment into land and
work in progress within joint ventures. This included the new joint venture at
Sherford.
ROCE reduced by 6.3ppts to 14.6%, mainly due to the lower adjusted profit for
the year.
Building safety provision
The Group's building safety provision increased to £324.4m (FY23: £289.0m)
as described earlier in this review.
Net debt and cash flow
The Group's opening net debt of £88.8m was £207.0m adverse to the previous
year's opening net cash of £118.2m. After an outflow of £91.9m, which was
substantially smaller than the outflow in the prior year of £207.0m, closing
net debt was £180.7m (FY23: £88.8m), with average daily net debt of £698.1m
(FY23: £586.0m).
Whilst adjusted profit before tax was down 35% on the prior year, cash
conversion improved due to a substantially lower working capital outflow of
£91.5m (FY23: outflow of £406.9m). In FY24, there was a cash benefit of
£84.4m as spend on new land was lower than the land utilised and there was an
increase in land creditors. The main contributors to the working capital
outflow were the increase in Partner Funded receivables, described earlier in
this review, which led to an outflow of £84.8m, as well as a reduction in
payables of £55.9m due to lower amounts of cash being received from customers
in advance of work being completed.
The Group continued to invest in its joint ventures, predominantly to fund
land and work in progress across a growing number of active joint ventures.
The net exceptional cash flows related to building safety increased to £36.8m
in the year (FY23: £33.3m) comprising a gross spend of £58.8m (FY23:
£45.0m) less recoveries of £22.0m (FY23: £11.7m). The cash flows differ
from the profit or loss statement due to working capital movements. After
recoveries, net cash spend on building safety is expected to increase to c.
£65m in FY25.
Income tax paid of £11.3m was lower than in the prior year, with the
quarterly instalment payments reflecting the lower taxable profits, and was
broadly in line with the current tax element of the total tax expense.
The net inflow before shareholder distributions was £80.7m (FY23: net outflow
of £91.3m). Shareholder distributions totalling £172.6m were set in
anticipation of profit for the year being higher than was achieved. This
related to the 15.3m shares purchased under the Group's share buyback
programmes.
In FY23, the shareholder distributions comprised £110.4m of dividends and
£5.3m of shares repurchased under the first buyback programme, which was
launched in December 2023.
The total available facilities as at 31 December 2024 were £1,080.0m (FY23:
£1,015.7m), of which £1,005.0m (FY23: £1,015.7m) were committed. Against
these facilities, the Group had drawn £500.0m (FY23: £506.7m) at the year
end. During the year, the Group agreed an additional facility of £75.0m with
one of the Group's existing lender pool, which is uncommitted and must be
repaid at each quarter end. In addition, subsequent to 31 December 2024, the
Group has secured an additional £50m facility with another lender from the
Group's existing lender pool. These uncommitted facilities are on-demand
facilities with flexible borrowing tenors to support the Group's short-term,
in-month, borrowing requirements.
£m 2024 2023 Change
Restated(2)
Opening net debt (88.8) 118.2 n/a
Adjusted profit before tax 263.5 407.3 -35%
Working capital movements:
Land 6.7 (60.0) n/a
WIP (35.2) (226.1) +84%
Land creditors 77.7 (5.2) n/a
Receivables (84.8) (67.7) -25%
Payables (55.9) (47.9) -17%
Working capital outflow (91.5) (406.9) +78%
Net investment in joint ventures (28.9) (60.4) +52%
Exceptional building safety spend (net of recoveries) (36.8) (33.3) -11%
Restructuring, integration and other costs (14.3) (56.1) +75%
Taxation (11.3) (37.7) +70%
Cash inflow/(outflow) before shareholder distributions 80.7 (91.3) n/a
Shareholder distributions (172.6) (115.7) -49%
Net cash outflow (91.9) (207.0) +56%
Closing net debt (180.7) (88.8) -103%
£m Facility 2024 2023
Available Maturity Margin
Revolving credit facility (500.0) 2026 SONIA + 1.6-2.5 ppts - -
Term loan (400.0) 2026 SONIA + 1.9-3.1 ppts (400.0) (400.0)
USPP loan(1) (100.0) 2027 4.03 ppts (103.7) (104.6)
Prepaid facility fee n/a n/a n/a 2.7 4.2
Development loan(2) - 2029 ECRR + 1.2-2.2 ppts - (6.7)
Money market facility (75.0) n/a SONIA plus margin
Overdraft facility (5.0) 2025 BoE Base + 1.5 ppts - -
Total borrowings (1,080.0) (501.0) (507.1)
Cash 320.3 418.3
Net debt (180.7) (88.8)
(1) The carrying value of the USPP loan includes the fair value of future
interest payments of £3.7m (FY23: £4.6m) as the loan was acquired through a
historical acquisition. The drawings of £100.0m (FY23: £100.0m) are equal to
the total available facility.
(2) The Homes England development loan is no longer included in the
consolidated Group accounts as the borrower, Linden Homes (Sherford) LLP, is
no longer a subsidiary undertaking.
Shareholder distributions and capital allocation policy
The Group has not changed its capital allocation policy during the year. An
interim ordinary distribution in the form of a share buyback of up to £55m
was announced in September 2024 alongside a special buyback of up to £75m.
The Group has completed £38m to date and expects to complete the remaining
£92m in the half year 2026.
Reflecting the disappointing performance in FY24, the Group is not proposing
any final ordinary distribution in respect of the FY24 adjusted earnings.
Future distributions will be made in accordance with Group's capital
allocation policy.
Forward order book
The forward order book as at 31 December was broadly stable at £4.4bn (FY23:
£4.5bn). The reduction in the Open Market element was driven by the lower
Open Market sales rate in the year's final three months.
£m 2024 2023
Open Market 285 298
Partner Funded 4,156 4,168
Total 4,441 4,466
Land bank
The land bank represents 4.4 years of supply (FY23: 4.9 years). The Group's
Partner Funded business model supports a shorter land bank than traditional
housebuilding due to the faster pace of delivery on pre-sold sites and the
lower proportion of Open Market homes. Over the medium term, we expect the
length of the land bank to reduce to less than 4.0 years of supply.
The Group added 14,432 plots to the land bank across 46 sites in the year,
including 701 plots across three sites previously in the strategic land bank.
The proportion of the total plots that were controlled rather than owned at
the end of the year increased to 31% (FY23: 27%). Over the medium term, we
expect around one-third of the land bank to come from controlled rather than
owned sites, as controlled sites require only minimal upfront capital
investment.
Number of plots 2024 2023
Owned (excluding joint ventures) 34,233 39,955
Owned - joint ventures (100%) 17,048 15,752
Total owned 51,281 55,707
Controlled (excluding joint ventures) 12,230 10,459
Controlled - joint ventures (100%) 10,509 10,268
Total controlled 22,739 20,727
Total 74,020 76,434
Strategic land
Strategic land refers to land which does not yet have planning consent and
which the Group is or will progress through planning and promotional processes
before development. Once we obtain planning consent, the land becomes
consented. Strategic land remains an essential supply source, and the number
of plots increased by 8% during the year.
As at 31 December 2024 Total sites Total plots
0 - 150 plots 55 4,322
150 - 300 plots 53 10,930
300 - 500 plots 31 10,745
500 - 1,000 plots 21 13,425
1,000+ plots 22 36,797
Total 182 76,219
Planning agreed 17 5,855
Planning application 19 8,778
Ongoing application 146 61,586
Total 182 76,219
At 31 December 2023 185 70,780
Change -2% +8%
Group statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income
2024 2023 restated (note 2)
For the year ended 31 December Note Reported measures Adjusting items (note 15) Adjusted measures Reported measures Adjusting items (note 15) Adjusted measures
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 3 3,779.3 549.9 4,329.2 3,564.2 477.9 4,042.1
Cost of sales (3,487.6) (3,030.6)
Gross profit 291.7 533.6
Administrative expenses (210.2) (287.8)
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (39.5) (46.3)
Other operating income 125.0 100.5
Operating profit 167.0 191.2 358.2 300.0 176.1 476.1
Finance income 30.5 22.0
Finance expense (95.9) (85.0)
Net finance expense (65.4) (29.3) (94.7) (63.0) (5.8) (68.8)
Share of profit after tax from joint ventures 8 3.3 56.0
Profit before tax 104.9 158.6 263.5 293.0 114.3 407.3
Income tax expense 5 (30.4) (44.2) (74.6) (78.0) (32.4) (110.4)
Profit for the year 74.5 114.4 188.9 215.0 81.9 296.9
Other comprehensive expense
Remeasurement of retirement benefit asset (4.3) (2.4)
Deferred tax on remeasurement of retirement benefit asset 1.2 0.7
Total other comprehensive expense (3.1) (1.7)
Total comprehensive income for the year 71.4 213.3
Earnings per share
Note 2024 2023 restated (note 2)
Reported measures Adjusted measures Reported measures Adjusted measures
Basic 6 22.0p 62.1p
Diluted 6 21.8p 61.3p
Adjusted Basic 6 55.9p 85.8p
Group statement of financial position
As at 31 December Note 2024 2023 restated
(note 2)
£m
£m
Assets
Goodwill 827.6 827.6
Intangible assets 368.8 409.3
Property, plant and equipment 22.8 20.1
Right-of-use assets 85.2 82.9
Investments 8 614.0 562.7
Retirement benefit assets 31.7 34.2
Total non-current assets 1,950.1 1,936.8
Inventories 3,008.3 3,080.2
Trade and other receivables 760.4 626.4
Cash and cash equivalents 9 320.3 418.3
Current tax assets 5.6 9.1
Total current assets 4,094.6 4,134.0
Total assets 6,044.7 6,070.8
Liabilities
Trade and other payables 1,403.7 1,481.9
Lease liabilities 29.4 24.6
Provisions 10 105.3 105.0
Total current liabilities 1,538.4 1,611.5
Borrowings 9 501.0 507.1
Trade and other payables 415.9 341.0
Lease liabilities 67.0 73.7
Provisions 10 247.9 212.4
Deferred tax liabilities 38.6 21.2
Total non-current liabilities 1,270.4 1,155.4
Total liabilities 2,808.8 2,766.9
Net assets 3,235.9 3,303.9
Equity
Issued capital 165.9 173.4
Share premium 361.3 361.0
Capital redemption reserve 9.0 1.5
Merger reserve 1,597.8 1,597.8
Retained earnings 1,101.9 1,170.2
Total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 3,235.9 3,303.9
Group statement of changes in equity
Note Own Other Total Capital Redemption reserve
shares
retained
retained
held
earnings
earnings Issued Share £m Merger
capital
premium
reserve
£m £m £m
Total
£m £m £m
£m
Balance as at 1 January 2023 (17.4) 1,133.6 1,116.2 173.6 360.8 1.3 1,597.8 3,249.7
as previously reported
Correction of prior year error 2 - (6.2) (6.2) - - - - (6.2)
Balance as at 1 January 2023 restated 2 (17.4) 1,127.4 1,110.0 173.6 360.8 1.3 1,597.8 3,243.5
Profit for the year restated 2 - 215.0 215.0 - - - - 215.0
Total other comprehensive expense - (1.7) (1.7) - - - - (1.7)
Total comprehensive income restated 2 - 213.3 213.3 - - - - 213.3
Issue of share capital - - - - 0.2 - - 0.2
Purchase of own shares 7 (2.0) (53.4) (55.4) (0.2) - 0.2 - (55.4)
LTIP shares exercised 4.7 (3.3) 1.4 - - - - 1.4
Share-based payments - 8.0 8.0 - - - - 8.0
Dividend paid 7 (110.4) (110.4) - - - - (110.4)
Deferred tax on share-based payments - 3.3 3.3 - - - - 3.3
Total transactions with owners 2.7 (155.8) (153.1) (0.2) 0.2 0.2 - (152.9)
Balance as at 31 December 2023 restated 2 (14.7) 1,184.9 1,170.2 173.4 361.0 1.5 1,597.8 3,303.9
Balance as at 1 January 2024 (14.7) 1,184.9 1,170.2 173.4 361.0 1.5 1,597.8 3,303.9
Profit for the year - 74.5 74.5 - - - - 74.5
Total other comprehensive expense - (3.1) (3.1) - - - - (3.1)
Total comprehensive income - 71.4 71.4 - - - - 71.4
Issue of share capital - - - - 0.3 - - 0.3
Purchase of own shares 7 (2.9) (141.9) (144.8) (7.5) - 7.5 - (144.8)
LTIP shares exercised 8.2 (5.5) 2.7 - - - - 2.7
Share-based payments - 5.5 5.5 - - - - 5.5
Deferred tax on share-based payments - (3.1) (3.1) - - - - (3.1)
Total transactions with owners 5.3 (145.0) (139.7) (7.5) 0.3 7.5 - (139.4)
Balance as at 31 December 2024 (9.4) 1,111.3 1,101.9 165.9 361.3 9.0 1,597.8 3,235.9
Group statement of cash flows
Note 2024 2023 restated (note 2)
For the year ended 31 December £m £m
Cash flows from operating activities
Operating profit for the year 167.0 300.0
Add back:
Exceptional items included in operating profit 4 99.9 46.2
Depreciation and amortisation 73.9 74.1
Other non-cash items (6.3) 1.9
Equity-settled share-based payment expense 5.5 8.0
Operating cash inflow before exceptional cash flows and movements in working 340.0 430.2
capital
Exceptional cash flows relating to the restructuring, integration and other (17.8) (55.4)
exceptional items
Exceptional cash outflow relating to building safety (58.8) (45.0)
Exceptional cash inflow relating to building safety recoveries 22.0 11.7
Exceptional cash outflows (54.6) (88.7)
Defined benefit pension contributions (0.2) (0.6)
Increase in trade and other receivables (124.0) (83.3)
Increase in inventories (28.5) (274.3)
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables 13.0 (1.8)
Increase/(decrease) in provisions 4.6 (15.9)
Movements in working capital (135.1) (375.9)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operations 150.3 (34.4)
Income taxes paid (11.3) (37.7)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 139.0 (72.1)
Cash flows from investing activities
Bank interest received 2.3 4.2
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (6.9) (2.8)
Disposal of subsidiary undertaking 22.7 -
Loans advanced to joint ventures 8 (321.1) (195.4)
Loans repaid by joint ventures 8 273.2 197.8
Interest received on loans to joint ventures 8 10.4 6.4
Dividends received from joint ventures 8 42.5 42.3
Net cash inflow from investing activities 23.1 52.5
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid 7 - (110.4)
Lease principal payments (27.1) (23.9)
Lease interest payments (5.4) (5.5)
Interest paid on borrowings (56.8) (44.9)
Proceeds from share issues 3.0 1.6
Purchase of own shares 7 (172.6) (5.3)
Repayment of bank loans (1.2) (50.5)
Net cash outflow from financing activities (260.1) (238.9)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (98.0) (258.5)
Opening cash and cash equivalents 418.3 676.8
Closing cash and cash equivalents 320.3 418.3
1 Basis of preparation
1.1 General Information
Vistry Group PLC (the 'Company') is a public company, limited by shares,
domiciled and incorporated in England, United Kingdom. The shares are listed
on the London Stock Exchange. The consolidated financial statements for the
year ended 31 December 2024 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries
(together referred to as the "Group") and the Group's interest in joint
ventures. The financial statements were authorised for issue by the Directors
on 25 March 2025. The registered office for Vistry Group PLC is 11 Tower View,
Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4UY.
1.2 Basis of preparation
The financial information set out above does not constitute the Group's
statutory financial statements for the years ended 31 December 2024 or 2023
but is derived from those financial statements. Statutory financial statements
for 2023 have been delivered to the registrar of companies, and those for 2024
will be delivered in due course. The auditors have reported on those financial
statements; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a
reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of
emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement
under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The consolidated financial statements of the Group have been prepared in
accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards and with the
requirements of the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies reporting
under those standards.
The consolidated financial statements are prepared on the historical cost
convention unless otherwise stated. The functional and presentational currency
of the Group is Pounds Sterling (GBP). All financial information, unless
otherwise stated has been rounded to the nearest £0.1m.
In accordance with section 612 of the Companies Act 2006, advantage is taken
of the relief from the requirement to create a share premium account to record
the excess over the nominal value of shares issued in a share for share
transaction. Where the relevant requirements of section 612 of the Companies
Act 2006 are met, the excess of any nominal value is credited to a merger
reserve.
1.3 Accounting policies
In the current year, the Group has applied the following amendments that are
mandatorily effective for reporting periods commencing on or after 1 January
2024.
· Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-Current (Amendments
to IAS 1)
· Non-Current Liabilities with Covenants (Amendments to IAS 1)
· Lease liability in a Sale and Leaseback (Amendments to IFRS 16)
· Supplier Financing Arrangements (Amendments to IAS 7 and IFRS 7)
The adoption of these amendments did not have a material impact on the Group's
reported results or disclosures. All other accounting policies, unless stated
otherwise, have been applied consistently to the Group.
1.4 Going concern
The Group has prepared a cash flow forecast for the period to 30 June 2026 to
confirm the appropriateness of the going concern assumption in these accounts.
This period is greater than the minimum 12 months required to incorporate the
next testing date of 30 June 2026 for the covenants under the Group's loan
facilities. The forecast was prepared using a likely base case which shows
that there is sufficient headroom and liquidity for the business to continue
as a going concern based on the committed facilities available to the Group.
The Group was also forecast to comply with the required covenants on its
borrowing facilities.
A number of severe but plausible downside sensitivity scenarios were
considered assuming decreased demand for housing, falling house prices and
increased build costs. In certain of the downside scenarios, the Group would
exceed its available facilities and breach covenants if no mitigating actions
were taken. The Group has a range of mitigating actions available to it, which
could be implemented readily and are within the Group's control. Consequently,
the Directors have not identified any material uncertainties to the Group's
ability to continue as a going concern over a period of at least 12 months
following the date of approval of the financial statements and have concluded
that using the going concern basis for the preparation of the financial
statements is appropriate.
In the downside sensitivity scenario, the following assumptions have been
applied (individually and in aggregate):
· 15% reduction in Open Market sales volumes from 1 May 2025 with a
corresponding slowdown in build rates and associated overheads
· A 3% reduction in the average sales price of Open Market and
unsecured Partner Funded homes from 1 May 2025
· A 5% increase in build costs from 1 September 2025
The following mitigating actions have been modelled against the individual and
combined downside scenarios:
· Removal of uncommitted land spend and associated income from 1 May
2025
· 25% further reduction in administrative expenses from 1 July 2025
· Pausing uncommitted shareholder distributions from 1 May 2025
1.5 Segment Reporting
The Group has one operating segment, which has been identified in a manner
consistent with the internal reporting provided to the Chief Operating
Decision Maker (CODM). The CODM has been determined as the Board of Directors
as they are responsible for allocating resources and regularly review and
assess the performance and financial position of the Group. All revenue and
profits disclosed relate to continuing activities performed in the United
Kingdom.
1.6 Exceptional items
Exceptional items are those which, in the opinion of the Directors, are
material by size and irregular in nature and therefore require separate
disclosure within the Statement of Profit or Loss in order to assist the users
of the financial statements in understanding the underlying business
performance of the Group.
2 Prior year restatement
Consideration was given as to whether any of the additional forecast costs
identified in the South Division should have been identified and accounted for
in prior periods. If there was a failure to use, or misuse of, reliable
information that was a) available when the financial statements were
authorised for issue and b) could reasonably be expected to have been obtained
and taken into account in preparing those financial statements, then this
could lead to an accounting error that requires adjustment. If this was the
case, the full-life margin expectation should have been adjusted at the time.
IAS 8 requires that information acquired with the benefit of hindsight should
not be taken into account, therefore events that have occurred subsequently
and which could not have been reasonably forecast at the time, such as
subcontractor failure, updated cost estimates upon obtaining new tenders or
operational challenges on site, do not constitute an error. These are changes
in estimates, which are accounted for from the beginning of the period in
which the event triggering the change occurred.
A review of the additional forecast costs on projects in the South Division
was undertaken to identify the reasons for each of the changes and when they
could and should reasonably have been known about. The results of the exercise
showed that there were some items which could reasonably have been known about
in prior periods. After considering a range of qualitative factors and the
aggregate quantitative impact for the year ended 31 December 2023, it was
concluded that there was a material error in the FY23 financial statements
totalling £20.5m that required restatement. The impact on individual line
items is shown in the table below.
2023
As previously reported
£m Adjustment Restated
£m £m
Changes in Group Statement of Profit or Loss
Cost of sales (3,018.8) (11.8) (3,030.6)
Gross profit 545.4 (11.8) 533.6
Operating profit 311.8 (11.8) 300.0
Profit before tax 304.8 (11.8) 293.0
Income tax expense (81.4) 3.4 (78.0)
Profit for the year 223.4 (8.4) 215.0
Total comprehensive income for the year 221.7 (8.4) 213.3
Changes in Group Statement of Financial Position
Inventories 3,100.7 (20.5) 3,080.2
Current tax assets 3.2 5.9 9.1
Total current assets 4,148.6 (14.6) 4,134.0
Total assets 6,085.4 (14.6) 6,070.8
Net assets 3,318.5 (14.6) 3,303.9
Changes in Group Statement of Cash Flows
Operating profit in the year 311.8 (11.8) 300.0
Increase in inventories (286.1) 11.8 (274.3)
Movements in working capital (387.7) 11.8 (375.9)
The additional forecast costs which should have been identified in prior years
would have reduced the expected full-life margin on the impacted sites at that
time. The full-life margin is used to determine the amount of inventories to
be expensed as cost of sales. To correct the error, the full-life margin at
the time has been recalculated to include the additional forecast costs, and
the revised margin has been used to recalculate the amount of inventories that
should have been expensed. This resulted in a total reduction in inventories
of £20.5m as at 31 December 2023 and a corresponding increase in cost of
sales in the relevant years. The amount relating to years earlier than FY23
gave rise to an adjustment of £6.2m (net of tax) to opening retained earnings
as at 1 January 2023, as shown in the table, comprising a reduction of £8.7m
in inventories and an increase in the current tax asset of £2.5m.
£m
Reconciliation of Shareholders' Equity
As at 1 January 2023 as previously reported 3,249.7
Adjustment to opening reserves (6.2)
As at 1 January 2023 restated 3,243.5
Profit for the year restated 215.0
Total other comprehensive income (1.7)
Total transactions with shareholders (152.9)
As at 31 December 2023 restated 3,303.9
3 Revenue
2024 2023
Revenue by type Point-in-time Over time Total Point-in-time Over time Total
£m
£m
£m
£m
£m
£m
Open Market sales 1,256.1 - 1,256.1 1,474.2 - 1,474.2
Partner Funded sales 165.6 2,181.6 2,347.2 171.9 1,806.5 1,978.4
Other 176.0 - 176.0 111.6 - 111.6
Revenue 1,597.7 2,181.6 3,779.3 1,757.7 1,806.5 3,564.2
4 Exceptional items
Restructuring expenses are those expenses, such as severance and other
non-recurring items directly related to restructuring and integration
activities that do not reflect the Group's underlying trading performance. The
building safety provision has previously been disclosed as an exceptional item
and, accordingly, further related income and expenses have also been disclosed
as exceptional items.
2024
Share of profit from joint ventures
£m
Administrative expenses Finance expense
£m
£m
Cost of sales Total
£m
£m
Restructuring, integration and other costs - 14.1 - - 14.1
Building safety:
Additions to provision 117.1 - - - 117.1
Recoveries (27.2) - - - (27.2)
Change in provision for obligations taken on by joint venture (20.9) - - 20.9 -
Impairment of inventories 16.8 - - - 16.8
Unwind of discounting on the provision - - 8.0 - 8.0
Total building safety 85.8 - 8.0 20.9 114.7
Exceptional items 85.8 14.1 8.0 20.9 128.8
2023
Share of profit from joint ventures
£m
Administrative expenses Finance expense
£m
£m
Cost of sales Total
£m
£m
Restructuring, integration and other costs - 46.3 - - 46.3
Building safety:
Release from provision (18.6) - - - (18.6)
Impairment of inventories 18.5 - - - 18.5
Unwind of discounting on the provision - - 19.4 - 19.4
Total building safety (0.1) - 19.4 - 19.3
Exceptional items (0.1) 46.3 19.4 - 65.6
5 Income tax expense
2023 restated
2024 (note 2)
£m £m
Current year excluding residential property developer tax 8.1 38.0
Residential property developer tax 1.6 7.1
Adjustments in respect of prior years 5.2 (3.6)
Current income tax expense 14.9 41.5
Origination and reversal of temporary differences 22.5 34.0
Adjustments in respect of prior years (7.0) 2.5
Deferred income tax expense 15.5 36.5
Total income tax expense 30.4 78.0
2023 restated
2024 (note 2)
£m £m
Profit before tax 104.9 293.0
Income tax on profit before tax at standard UK corporation tax rate of 25% 26.2 68.9
(2023: 23.5%)
Residential property developer tax 2.9 8.0
Non-deductible expenses 0.5 0.4
Tax effect of share of results of joint ventures 2.4 (2.0)
Tax rate differences 0.5 3.3
Adjustments to the tax charge in respect of prior years (1.8) (1.1)
Other timing differences (0.3) 0.5
Total income tax expense 30.4 78.0
Effective tax rate 29.0% 26.6%
The Group's effective tax rate of 29.0% (FY23: 26.6%) is higher than the
weighted statutory rate of corporation tax of 25.0% (FY23: 23.5%) principally
due to the Residential Property Developer Tax ('RPDT') charge in the year.
RPDT is charged at a rate of 4% of relevant taxable profits.
The corporation tax rate increased from 19% to 25% with effect from 1 April
2023. Deferred taxes at 31 December 2024 and 2023 have been measured using
enacted rates and reflected in these financial statements.
Recognised directly in Group statement of changes in equity or in the Group
statement of comprehensive income
2024 2023
£m £m
Deferred tax relating to actuarial movements on pension scheme 1.2 0.7
Deferred tax relating to equity-settled share-based payments (3.1) 3.3
Deferred tax recognised directly in equity or other comprehensive income (1.9) 4.0
6 Earnings per share
Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders 2023 restated
2024 (note 2)
£m £m
Profit for the year attributable to equity holders of the parent 74.5 215.0
Adjusted earnings attributable to equity holders of the parent 188.9 296.9
Earnings per share 2023 restated (note 2)
2024 £m
£m
Basic earnings per share 22.0p 62.1p
Diluted earnings per share 21.8p 61.3p
Adjusted basic earnings per share 55.9p 85.8p
Weighted average number of shares used as the denominator Basic Diluted Basic Diluted 2023
2024 2024 2023
m m m m
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the year ended 31 December 338.1 341.8 346.0 350.6
The basic weighted average number of ordinary shares is calculated by
time-weighting the ordinary shares in issue during the period based on new
issues and share buybacks. This figure excludes treasury shares and shares
held in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Trust but includes any
outstanding vested nil-cost options in relation to equity-settled share-based
payment arrangements.
The diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares is calculated as the
basic weighted average number, plus any other potentially outstanding shares
in relation to the equity-settled share-based payment arrangements. A total of
nil shares that could potentially dilute earnings per share in the future were
excluded from the above calculations because they were anti-dilutive at 31
December 2024 (FY23: nil shares).
7 Distributions
The Group has made the following distributions:
2024 2023
£m £m
Prior year final dividend per share of nil (2023: 32p per share) - 110.4
Share buyback in lieu of interim dividend 44.1 55.4
Share buyback in lieu of final dividend 100.7 -
Distributions 144.8 165.8
The Group commenced a share buyback programme of £55m of ordinary shares in
lieu of an interim dividend for FY23 on 11 December 2023. This was completed
on 23 February 2024 with a total of 5.8m ordinary shares (5.1m during the
year) acquired at an average price per share of 955 pence. Of the ordinary
shares repurchased, 5.5m shares were cancelled (5.1m during the year).
On 18 April 2024, the Group commenced an ordinary share buyback programme of
£100m of ordinary shares in lieu of a final dividend for FY23. This was
completed on 4 September 2024 with a total of 7.7m ordinary shares acquired at
an average price per share of 1,299 pence. Of the ordinary shares repurchased,
7.5m shares were cancelled.
On 5 September 2024, the Group announced that it was commencing an ordinary
share buyback programme to repurchase up to £55m of ordinary shares in lieu
of an interim dividend for 2024 and a further special buyback of up to £75m.
The Group engaged brokers to manage the first tranche of the programme up to
£43.4m and had issued an irrevocable instruction for the brokers to manage
the programme, within pre-set parameters, during the closed period ahead of
the Group's trading update on 15 January 2025. By 31 December 2024, the Group
had repurchased 2.5m shares at a cost of £21.4m and the remaining amount of
the first tranche, including costs, has been recognised as a liability of
£22.3m in these financial statements. Of the ordinary shares repurchased,
2.5m shares were cancelled.
In the period from 1 January 2025 to 25 March 2025, the Company purchased a
further 2.8m ordinary shares, which were also subsequently cancelled, for a
total consideration of £16.7m (including stamp and duty fees).
8 Investments
The movement in investments during the year is as follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
Opening investments in joint ventures 562.6 552.3
Acquisition of joint venture 27.3 -
Loans advanced 321.1 194.4
Loans repaid (273.2) (197.8)
Fair value adjustments to loans - 1.0
Share of net profit for the year before exceptional item 24.2 56.0
Exceptional item related to building safety (20.9) -
Dividends received from joint ventures (42.5) (42.3)
Interest accrued on loans to joint ventures 25.1 24.7
Movement in provision against interest on loans to joint ventures 0.6 (9.6)
Interest received on loans to joint ventures (10.4) (6.4)
Other movements - (9.7)
Closing investment in joint ventures 613.9 562.6
Other investments 0.1 0.1
Total investments 614.0 562.7
9 Cash and cash equivalents and borrowings
2024 2023
£m £m
Cash and cash equivalents 320.3 418.3
Borrowings (501.0) (507.1)
Net debt (180.7) (88.8)
The £500m four-year revolving credit facility syndicate compromises eight
banks, six of which form the syndicate for the £400m Term Loan. The revolving
credit facility, Term Loan and USPP Loan all include a covenant package,
covering interest cover, gearing and tangible net worth requirements which are
tested semi-annually.
Available facility Maturity 2024 2023
£m £m
Revolving credit facility (500.0) 2026 - -
Term loan (400.0) 2026 (400.0) (400.0)
USPP loan (100.0) 2027 (103.7) (104.6)
Prepaid facility fee n/a n/a 2.7 4.2
Homes England development loan - 2029 - (6.7)
Money market facility (75.0) n/a - -
Overdraft facility (5.0) 2025 - -
Total borrowings (1,080.0) (501.0) (507.1)
Cash 320.3 418.3
Net debt (180.7) (88.8)
10 Provisions
Building safety Restructuring Other Total
£m £m £m £m
As at 1 January 2024 289.0 9.9 18.5 317.4
Additional provisions 117.1 5.3 22.5 144.9
Utilised in the year (68.8) (9.5) (15.2) (93.5)
Unwind of discounting 8.0 - - 8.0
Transfer to joint venture (20.9) - - (20.9)
Releases - - (2.7) (2.7)
As at 31 December 2024 324.4 5.7 23.1 353.2
Of the total provisions detailed above £105.3m is expected to be utilised
within the next year (2023: £105.0m).
Building safety provision
An additional provision of £117.1m was recognised in the year, driven by a
number of factors. The Group has seen an increase in the number and value of
claims received from building owners, driven by the regulatory changes
introduced in recent years which have extended the liability period for
developers across a broader range of building safety issues.
The Group has also experienced additional costs arising from increases to the
scope of works on buildings in the process of remediation. Detailed
investigations are undertaken to enable the scope of works to be defined and
approved ahead of works commencing, however when remediating existing
buildings there is inevitably the possibility that previously unknown issues
will be identified during the course of the works.
Securing the necessary approvals to the scope of remediation works has been a
challenge across the industry and the Group has experienced instances of
previously agreed scopes needing to be increased based on revised professional
advice from consultants.
There has been a substantial step up in remediation activity across the sector
as developers seek to meet their obligations to building owners and residents
as quickly as possible. This has resulted in high demand for the services of
specialist suppliers and subcontractors, adding to the general upward
inflationary pressure.
Utilisation in the year was £68.8m and spend is expected to increase to
c£85m in FY25 and c£100m in FY26. The remaining remediation spend is
expected to be phased relatively evenly over FY27 and FY28.
The provision previously included an amount of £20.9m relating to the Group's
share of the expected costs to remediate 10 buildings that were developed by
Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd, one of the Group's joint ventures. During
2024, the joint venture accepted responsibility for completing the works and
recorded a provision for the full amount. Accordingly, the Group provision was
released.
At 31 December 2024 the Group has a £324.4m provision for future obligations
on remedial works and additional costs. At the beginning of the year, the
Group was engaged in remediating 237 buildings. During the year, a net
additional 41 buildings were identified, work completed on 28 buildings and
responsibility for 10 buildings was transferred to a joint venture. At 31
December 2024 the Group was engaged in remediating 240 buildings (FY23: 237),
excluding those in the joint venture.
11 Financial instruments
2024 2023
£m £m
Non-derivative financial assets
Trade and other receivables * 427.2 399.9
Cash and cash equivalents 320.3 418.3
Non-derivative financial liabilities
Borrowings (501.0) (507.1)
Trade and other payables ** (1,676.4) (1,642.7)
Lease liabilities (96.4) (98.3)
Net financial liabilities (1,526.3) (1,429.9)
* Trade and other receivables excluding prepayments, accrued income and
contract assets which are not financial instruments.
** Trade and other payables excluding deferred income and contract liabilities
which are not financial instruments.
Land creditors, recognised within trade and other payables, and a USPP loan,
recognised within bank and other loans are recognised initially at fair value
and subsequently at amortised cost. For all other financial instruments, there
is no material difference between fair value and carrying value.
12 Related party transactions
Transactions between fellow subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been
eliminated on consolidation, as have transactions between the Company and its
subsidiaries during the year.
Transactions between the Group, Company and key management personnel in the
year ended 31 December 2024 were limited to those relating to remuneration.
Mr. Greg Fitzgerald, the Executive Chair and CEO, is non-executive Chairman
and a shareholder of Ardent Hire Solutions Limited ("Ardent"). The Group hires
forklift trucks from Ardent.
Mr. Stephen Teagle, CEO Partnerships and Regeneration, is the Chair of The
Housing Forum. The Group paid for a subscription to The Housing Forum during
the year.
Ms. Katherine Innes Ker, former non-executive Director who resigned in May
2023, was also non-executive Director of Forterra PLC. The Group incurred
costs with Forterra PLC in relation to the supply of bricks during the term
that Katherine was a non-executive Director in FY23 which is presented in the
table below. Any transactions with Forterra PLC in the period after
Katherine's departure from the Board are excluded from the table below.
Dr. Chris Browne, a non-executive director, is also a non-executive director
of Kier Group PLC. The Group holds shares in four joint ventures for which
Kier Group PLC are also an investor. No transactions were made during the year
directly between the Group and Kier Group PLC in relation to those joint
ventures or otherwise, and there were no amounts payable to or owed by Kier
Group PLC as at 31 December 2024.
The total net value of transactions with related parties excluding joint
ventures has been made at arm's length and were as follows:
Expenses paid to related parties Amounts payable to related parties Amounts owed by related parties
2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Trading transactions
Ardent Hire Solutions 13,819 7,898 669 380 - 159
The Housing Forum 32 15 - - - -
Forterra PLC - 6 - - - -
-
Transactions between the Group and its joint ventures are disclosed as
follows:
Sales to related parties Interest income and dividend income from related parties
2024 2023 2024 2023
£m £m £m £m
Trading transactions 383.2 232.1 - -
Non-trading transactions - - 68.1 68.9
Amounts owed by related parties Amounts owed to related parties
2024 2023 2024 2023
£m £m £m £m
Balances with joint ventures 548.7 433.7 97.6 85.8
Sales to related parties including joint ventures are based on normal
commercial payment terms available to unrelated third parties, without
security.
Interest rates on the loans made to joint ventures are set as part of the
joint venture agreement. Typically, the partners charge interest based on the
Bank of England base rate plus a margin, although the Group has some loans to
joint ventures where interest is charged at a fixed rate of between nil and
5.0%. Loans are repayable when the joint venture has surplus funds and must be
fully repaid by the completion of the development. All balances with related
parties will be settled in cash.
As at the reporting date, two (FY23: two) of the Group's employees have a
close family member on the ELT. These individuals were recruited through the
normal interview process and are employed at salaries commensurate with their
experience and roles. The combined annual salary and benefits of these
individuals is less than £0.3m (FY23: £0.3m).
There have been no other related party transactions in the financial year
which have materially affected the financial performance or position of the
Group, and which have not been disclosed.
13 Contingent liabilities
The Group is subject to various claims, audits and investigations that have
arisen in the ordinary course of business. These matters include but are not
limited to employment and commercial matters. The outcome of all these matters
is subject to future resolution, including the uncertainties of litigation.
Based on information currently known to the Group and after consultation with
external lawyers, the Directors believe that the ultimate resolution of these
matters, individually and in aggregate, will not have a material adverse
impact on the Group's financial condition. Where necessary, applicable costs
are included within the cost to complete estimates for individual developments
or are provided for in the financial statements.
As Government legislation, regulation and guidance further evolves in relation
to building safety, including the Defective Premises Act (DPA), this may
result in additional liabilities for the Group to carry out remediation works.
These possible liabilities cannot currently be reliably estimated and as such
no provision for them has been recognised at the balance sheet date. Where the
Group has been formally notified of potentially defective works through
communications from building owners, leaseholders or managing agents on these
buildings and the unfit for habitation test has been established, an
appropriate provision has been recognised. The Directors believe that the
Group may be able to recover some of the remediation costs via insurance or,
in the case of defective workmanship, from subcontractors or other third
parties, however, any such recoveries are not deemed to be virtually certain
and therefore no contingent assets have been recognised at the balance sheet
date.
14 Events after the reporting period
In the period from 1 January 2025 to 25 March 2025, the Company purchased 2.8m
ordinary shares, which were subsequently cancelled, for a total consideration
of £16.7m (including stamp duty and fees).
During March 2025, the Group secured an additional £50m facility with one of
the lenders from the Group's existing lender pool. The uncommitted facility is
available on-demand with flexible borrowing tenors to support the Group's
short-term, in-month, borrowing requirements.
There were no other material events arising after the reporting date.
15 Adjusted performance measures
In addition to the IFRS (reported) measures disclosed, the Group uses certain
non-IFRS alternative performance (adjusted) measures to assess its operational
performance. Definitions and reconciliations to IFRS measures, where relevant,
are provided below.
Alternative performance measure Calculated as
Adjusted revenue Statutory revenue plus the Group's proportional share of joint ventures'
revenue.
Adjusted operating profit Statutory operating profit excluding exceptional items and amortisation of
acquired intangible assets plus the Group's proportional share of joint
ventures' operating profit.
Adjusted operating margin Adjusted operating profit divided by adjusted revenue.
Adjusted net finance expense Statutory net finance expense excluding exceptional items plus the Group's
proportional share of joint ventures' net finance expense.
Adjusted profit before tax Statutory profit before tax excluding exceptional items, amortisation of
acquired intangibles and the Group's proportional share of joint ventures'
tax.
Adjusted income tax expense Statutory income tax expense excluding the tax effect of exceptional items and
amortisation of acquired intangible assets, tax on joint ventures included in
profit before
tax and the adjustment of one-off tax items.
Adjusted effective tax rate (ETR) Adjusted ETR represents the underlying tax rate for the Group before the
impact of one-off tax items, and is defined as the statutory headline rate
adjusted for Group's liability to Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT).
Adjusted basic earnings per share (EPS) Adjusted profit before tax less adjusted income tax expense, divided by the
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the year.
Net debt Cash and cash equivalents less total borrowings (excluding lease liabilities).
Capital employed Statutory net assets less goodwill, intangible assets, net debt, retirement
benefit asset and building safety provision.
Tangible net asset value (TNAV) Statutory net assets less goodwill, intangible assets and net debt.
Return on capital employed (ROCE) Adjusted operating profit divided by average capital employed.
Reconciliation of adjusted measures to reported measures
Adjusted revenue, operating profit, net financing expenses and profit before
tax:
2024
Revenue Operating profit Net financing expenses Share of profit from Joint ventures Profit before tax Tax Profit after tax
£m
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Reported measures 3,779.3 167.0 (65.4) 3.3 104.9 (30.4) 74.5
Adjusting items:
Exceptional expenses(1) - 99.9 8.0 20.9 128.8 (37.3) 91.5
Share of joint ventures(1) 549.9 51.8 (37.3) (24.2) (9.7) 9.7 -
Amortisation of acquired intangibles(3) 39.5 - - 39.5 (11.4) 28.1
Other - - - - - (5.2) (5.2)
Total adjusting items 549.9 191.2 (29.3) (3.3) 158.6 (44.2) 114.4
Adjusted measures 4,329.2 358.2 (94.7) - 263.5 (74.6) 188.9
2023 restated (note 2)
Revenue Operating profit Net financing expenses Share of profit from Joint ventures Profit before tax Tax Profit after tax
£m
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Reported measures 3,564.2 300.0 (63.0) 56.0 293.0 (78.0) 215.0
Adjusting items:
Exceptional expenses(1) - 46.2 19.4 - 65.6 (18.0) 47.6
Share of joint ventures(1) 477.9 83.6 (25.2) (56.0) (2.4) 2.4 -
Amortisation of acquired intangibles(3) 46.3 - - 46.3 (10.9) 35.4
Other - - - - - (1.1) (1.1)
Total adjusting items 477.9 176.1 (5.8) (56.0) 114.3 (32.4) 81.9
Adjusted measures 4,042.1 476.1 (68.8) - 407.3 (110.4) 296.9
1. Exceptional expenses are those which the Directors consider to be material
by size and irregular in nature. The adjusted measures exclude these items in
order to more clearly show the underlying business performance of the Group.
2. The Group undertakes a significant portion of its activities through joint
ventures with its partners. In accordance with IFRS, the Group's statement of
profit or loss and other comprehensive income includes its share of the
post-tax results of joint ventures within a single line item. The Directors
believe that showing the Group's share of revenue, operating profit and net
financing expenses from joint ventures within the respective adjusted measures
better reflects the full scale of the Group's operations and performance.
3. The amortisation charge relates to intangible assets which arose on the
acquisitions of Linden Homes and Galliford Try Partnerships from Galliford Try
PLC and of Countryside Properties PLC. The charge is non-cash and was set at
the time of the acquisition. The Directors consider that this needs to be
excluded in the adjusted measure to show the underlying business performance
of the Group more clearly.
4. The Directors consider that one-off tax items need to be excluded such that
the adjusted income tax expense represents the underlying tax charge for the
Group.
Adjusted basic earnings per share (EPS)
2024 2023 restated
(note 2)
Adjusted earnings (£m) 188.9 296.9
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (m) 338.1 346.0
Adjusted basic earnings per share (pence) 55.9 85.8
Tangible net asset value (TNAV) and capital employed
TNAV measures the intrinsic value of the tangible assets held by the Group to
shareholders. Capital employed is a key input for determining ROCE and
represents the capital used to generate adjusted operating profit.
2024 2023 restated
£m (note 2)
£m
Net assets 3,235.9 3,303.9
Goodwill (827.6) (827.6)
Intangible assets (368.8) (409.3)
Net debt 180.7 88.8
Tangible net assets 2,220.2 2,155.8
Retirement benefit asset (31.7) (34.2)
Building safety provision 324.4 289.0
Capital employed 2,512.9 2,410.6
2024 2023 restated (note 2)
£m £m
Opening capital employed 2,410.6 2,139.5
Closing capital employed 2,512.9 2,410.6
Average capital employed 2,461.8 2,275.1
Return on capital employed (ROCE)
This measures the profitability and efficiency of capital being used by the
Group and is calculated as shown below.
2024 2023 restated
(note 2)
Adjusted operating profit (£m) 358.2 476.1
Average capital employed (£m) 2,461.8 2,275.1
ROCE (%) 14.6 20.9
Forward order book
The Group's forward order book comprises the unexecuted element on contracts
that have been secured including those which are reported within its joint
ventures. The Directors believe that showing the Group's share of joint
venture orders better reflects the full scale of the Group's pipeline.
Additionally, reservations made on open market sales have been included given
they are a commitment made by a customer against a specific plot.
2024 2023
£m £m
Reported measure: transaction price allocated to unsatisfied performance 3,711.6 3,722.9
obligations on contracts
Adjusting items:
Share of forward orders included within the Group's joint ventures 551.2 558.2
Open market reservations 178.0 185.0
Adjusted measure: forward order book 4,440.8 4,466.1
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