<p><span>Persimmon’s ceo Dave Jenkinson is to step down from the volume housebuilder, with the business announcing falls in profits and volume for 2019 as it repositions itself after quality and customer care controversies.</span></p> <p><span>The volume housebuilder said that after 23 years at the business, Jenkinson planned to leave </span><span>in due course</span><span>, signalling his intention early “to give the board good time to recruit a successor”.</span></p> <p><span>In the meantime, Jenkinson would remain as ceo, being “fully committed to leading the ongoing programme of change for as long as the business requires.”</span></p> <p><span>During the year ending December 31 2019, Persimmon sold </span><span>15</span><span>,855 new homes, 4% down on 2018. Its total new homes average selling price climbed marginally to £215,709 from the previous year’s £215,563.</span></p> <p><span>Total group revenue came 2.4% lower at £3.65 billion, with pre-tax profit at £1.04 billion against the previous year’s £1.09 billion. It saw an underlying new housing operating margin of 30.3% compared to 2018’s 30.8%.</span></p> <p><span>"Improving build quality and the service delivered to our customers were our top priorities throughout 2019,” Jenkinson said. “Putting customers before volume is at the heart of our customer care improvement plan.”</span></p> <p><span>Persimmon also said it was in the process of implementing the …