Vistry ‘confident’ of delivering year-on-year profit growth as affordable housing demand picks up

Vistry Group has said that it is confident of delivering year-on-year profit growth in 2025, despite its slow start to the year.

In a short trading update today, the £3.8bn-turnover housebuilder said its expectation for the year to 31 December remains unchanged.

The group in September reported a 55% drop in pre-tax profit for the first six months of the calendar year, but says activity has “continued to build” since the summer.

It said the government’s announcements of measures to boost the affordable housing sector in the summer, including a £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme and a 10-year rent settlement, are “starting to have a positive effect on new partner contracts”.

Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Vistry said: “Recent interactions with partners and government demonstrate an appetite for increased pace in the affordable housing sector and reinforce our optimism for the years ahead.

“We remain well positioned to play a key role in the delivery of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme and in supporting the broader growth ambitions for the sector.”

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It said it is expecting to conclude a number of “partner-funded” deals - meaning homes funded by housing associations, local authorities, or build-to-rent investors – in the final quarter of the year.

Vistry also said it anticipates the Autumn Budget on 26 November will provide further clarity “on how the Government’s housebuilding ambitions will be supported”. It said, however, that the uncertainty created by the delay to the budget “has been unhelpful”.

Vistry in September secured £50m of grant funding from Homes England as part of the £2bn funding top-up announced by the government earlier in the year. It said it has “made good progress” in allocating this funding to support new affordable housing schemes.