Crest Nicholson reports increase in open market sales

Crest Nicholson has announced an increase in its open market sales rate in a trading update.

The housebuilder held its annual general meeting this morning (25 March) and published an update to coincide, in which it reported an improvement in the first months of the year.

“Following the weak trading conditions in the second half of the 2025 calendar year, the Group has seen a sustained improvement in the sales rate since the middle of January,” it said.

In the 10-week period to 20 March, Crest Nicholson reported an open market sales rate (excluding bulk) of 0.64, up from 0.61 in full-year 2025.

It said its guidance for the year remained unchanged and that it had “yet to see any material trading impact from the wider macroeconomic shock of recent weeks”, while noting that it was “alert to the potential risks and will respond accordingly to any changes in the trading environment”.

In January, Cres Nicholson published its results for the year to 30 October 2025, which saw it return to a profit of £2.9m in what it described as a “year of transition” following cuts to divisions and redundancies.

The Group will report its half year results for the six months to 30 April on Thursday 11 June.