Housebuilder Persimmon has reported a collapse in pre-tax profit for the first half of its financial year as reduced sales and a weak market hit margins.

Announcing interim results to June 30, Persimmon said pre-tax profit fell 65.7% to £151m, from £440m in the same period last year. The drop in profit came after revenue tumbled on lower completions, with turnover down 30% to £1.19bn on the sale of just 4,249 homes, down 36.2%.

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