Vistry expecting surge in affordable homes contracts in second half of the year

Vistry’s profit has fallen in the first six months of 2025 but is it expecting a “significant step up” in affordable housing contracts in the second half of this year and next due to new government funding and policies designed to help social landlords develop.

The partnerships housebuilder today said its adjusted pre-tax profit for the six months to 30 June was around £80m. This is down by a third on the £120.7m reported in the same period the previous year. It said this is line with expectations and it is still on track to increase full-year annual profit.

The firm said it is expecting increased demand for affordable housing partnerships work, pointing out that the £2bn in top-up funding for the existing Affordable Homes Programme announced in March will be distributed in the second half of 2025.

It also said the 10-year inflation-linked social housing rent settlement announced in the spending review and the confirmation of the reintroduction of rent convergence will lead to more development opportunities with social housing providers.

“The greater certainty on rental income that this gives to affordable housing providers enables greater access to funding for investment in new affordable homes and will be a key driver of increased demand from the second half of 2025,” it said.

Vistry said the new £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme announced by Rachel Reeves last month “provides a significant step-up in funding and long-term commitment to the affordable housing sector”. Allocations of funding through this programme are expected to be made in the first half of 2026.

Vistry said: “We have worked closely with our partners, identifying a strong pipeline of development opportunities, and expect the funding and other important initiatives to support a significant step up in new contracts with our affordable housing partners in H2 2025, with strong momentum going into 2026.”

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During the first half of the year Vistry completed around 6,800 homes, down from 7,792 in the same period last year. Half-year turnover is expected to be around £1.8bn, a drop from £2bn last year.

Vistry said demand from its affordable housing partners “remained at lower levels in the first half” due to uncertainty ahead of the spending review and funding constraints.

It said demand from private rented sector providers has “remained resilient” while affordability challenges for first-time buyers have affected open market sales demand.