Housebuilder says profit will be around 拢345m

Vistry has pledged to work with the government to find a 鈥渟olution鈥 to cladding costs as it reveals its profit is in line with expectations for the year.

The housebuilder is the first major developer to publicly comment on the proposals announced at the start of the week.

In a trading update this morning, the housebuilder said it was 鈥渟upportive鈥 of Michael Gove鈥檚 plan to force developers to pay 拢4bn to remediate tower blocks between 11m and 18m in height.

Vistry Roof Truss Procedure4

Vistry said pre-tax profit for 2021 will have more than doubled on the previous year鈥檚 figure

It added: 鈥淲e fully agree that the costs of remediation should not be borne by leaseholders and we will work directly with the government as well as with the Home Builders Federation to deliver a solution.

鈥淲e will update on any implications for the group as these suggestions evolve into clear proposals

The comments came as Vistry said its pre-tax profit for 2021 would be around 拢345m, a more than doubling on the 拢143.9m profit reported in 2020. In September, it said profit would be 5% higher than the market consensus forecast of 拢329m.

Vistry鈥檚 housebuilding division reported a 41% increase in completions from 4,652 in 2020 to 6,551 last year, while it partnerships division similarly increased its mixed tenure completions from 1,479 to 2,088 units. Vistry鈥檚 overall landbank rose to 11,772 plots, up from 8,652 last year.

The group said it has seen supply chain pressures and inflationary price increases on certain products and skilled labour throughout the year, although these have eased recently. It is forecasting build cost inflation of 5% in 2022.

Vistry was formed in January 2020 following the 拢1.1bn purchase by Bovis Homes of Galliford Try鈥檚 partnerships and Linden Homes businesses.

It will release its 2021 results on 2 March.