Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 250 company - formerly called Bovis - has been rocked by cash flow difficulties, soaring debt and a wider slowdown in the housing market, sending the share price tumbling. Chief executive Adam Daniels was appointed in April, and immediately launched a review of the business.
Posting both interim numbers and the review’s conclusions, Daniels insisted that Vistry had "strong fundamentals", but acknowledged that execution, regional discipline and capital allocations "have not been consistent enough".
He continued: "These issues can be fixed and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure the strong performance we have seen across many of our sites is replicated across the group as a whole.
"We are repositioning Vistry as a specialist, mixed-tenure housebuilder that will deliver consistent, cash-backed growth in earnings alongside highly attractive returns on capital.
"To achieve this the group will need to be smaller, more focused geographically and with increased discipline and control in operational delivery and allocation of capital."
The group - which completed 15,658 units in 2025, down from 17,225 - will now target 12,000 completions per annum over the medium term. It will also consolidate its 25 regions into 12 larger, operating areas, simplify product range and brands and reduce the land bank to 36,000 from 51,000 plots.
The overhaul, combined with a hiring freeze and voluntary redundancy programme, is expected to generate overall cost savings of around £50m per year. It will also target a reduction in average daily net debt to around £500m in 2027 and £400m in 2028.
However, profits are expected to suffer in the short term. The group cut adjusted pre-tax profits guidance for the current year to around £165m from an earlier forecast for £200m, and warned pre-tax profits would fall further once various costs were factored in, including a £40m downward revision as partner deals are renegotiated. More job cuts are also expected as regional offices are shut.
The update came as Vistry posted an 8% fall in completions in the six months to 30 June to 6,304, and a 9% slide in revenues to £1.7bn. The operating loss came in at £36.2m, compared to an adjusted operating profit of £124.4m in 2025, while a spike in costs saw statutory pre-tax losses slump to £661.3m. A year earlier, pre-tax profits were £40.9m.
Net debt soared to £468.8m from £293.1m.
Daniels concluded: "The CEO review has provided strategic clarity with a deliverable plan and clear commitment across capital, operations and culture. This gives me great confidence that we can return Vistry to a business that consistently creates value for shareholders and delivers exceptional outcomes for all stakeholders."
Vistry’s share price - which has shed 80% over the last five years - was off 6% at 250.9p as at noon BST.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “The positive news is that Daniels is grasping the nettle with both hands as he looks to right the business. The problem is that he is not fixing the roof while the sun is shining, but instead when it is pouring with rain, thanks to rising costs and a struggling property market affect rising borrowing costs.”
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