Challenging market for Churchill

Margin and profit were slightly down this year at Churchill Retirement Living as the firm faced a “challenging backdrop of changing government policy, continued economic uncertainty and the shadow of Brexit.”
Announcing its results for the full year ending June 30 2018, Churchill said revenue was up 5.9% to £188.4 million and average selling price up 1.6% to £313,000. But unit sales were down slightly to 521 (2017:527), average build cost per unit was up 3.8% to £108,000 and the use of customer incentives – particularly part exchange – increased in what the firm called “a slow second hand market”. Accordingly pre-tax profit was down 3% to £53.2 million.
Churchill called 2017/18 “a year of progress in a challenging market” and chairman and ceo Spencer McCarthy said: “Against a challenging backdrop of changing government policy, continued economic uncertainty and the shadow of Brexit, Churchill has stuck to its principles and delivered another year of measured progress.”
McCarthy said that the government’s “crackdown on unfair leasehold practices” has had a significant impact on the retirement housing sector. The firm wants retirement housing to be included within the “limited exemptions” referred to by the government.
“Churchill does not build leasehold houses and does not employ …