Crest Nicholson sees “encouraging start” to year

Crest Nicholson has seen an “encouraging” start to the year after a challenging 2024, it said today (March 20), citing its new operational and sales improvement initiatives.

In a trading update ahead of a Capital Markets Day for analysts and institutional investors, the housebuilder stated that in the ten-week period to March 14, its open market sales rate (excluding bulk) was 0.61, up from the 0.50 at the end of its previous financial year to October 31 2024.

This was supported by its “self-help initiatives including ongoing training and upskilling of the sales team, revised incentive schemes and enhancing our product offering”.

It is on track to deliver results for the current financial year in line with guidance. It said its cash performance was “tracking better” than expected in the first four months of its current financial year.

At the Capital Markets Day today, Crest’s ceo Martyn Clark and chief financial officer Bill Floydd will outline the company’s strategy to “drive the business forward”, positioning it for “sustainable growth and returns”.

Within this, it aims for mid-single digit percentage growth in home completions over five years to 2,300-plus units annually. In FY 2024, its open market …