Persimmon sees completions return to 2019 levels

Persimmon says it has completed 7,406 homes in the first half of the year (six months to the end of June), well above last year’s 4,900 and on par with the 7,584 of 2019.

In a trading update issued today the firm says that UK housing market fundamentals remain supportive with low interest rates, improving levels of mortgage availability, ongoing government support and strong customer demand.

Total revenue reached £1.84 billion, up on last year’s £1.19 billion, and forward sales stand at £1.82 billion, similar to this time last year (£1.86 billion). The group says its average weekly private sales rate per site for the first half was over 30% ahead of 2020, the increase reflecting the unprecedented site shutdowns in 2020 due to the pandemic, but was also around 20% ahead of 2019. Persimmon had around 285 active sales outlets on average throughout the period with about 85 forecast to open in the second half of this year.

Dean Finch, Persimmon group chief executive, said: "Persimmon performed well during the first half of the year delivering new home sales completions approaching the levels achieved in the first half of 2019. I am particularly pleased that we are continuing to …