Crest Nicholson aims to deliver a new strategy after the Surrey-based house builder reported a “tough and disappointing” year with a pre-tax loss of £144 million.

Revenue for the year to 31 October 2024 was £618.2 million down six per cent from £657.5 million in 2023.
The firm generated a pre-tax loss of £143.7 million, down 722.1 per cent from £23.1 million in 2023, while it made an operating loss of £128.7 million, (FY23: profit of £29.9 million).
This included a pre-tax exceptional charge of £166.1 million.
This included £131.7 million due to additional fire remediation provision which covers all known 291 buildings within the scope of the housebuilder’s developer remediation contract.
The group said it has made significant progress in its assessment of all buildings within the scope of the remediation contract.
As a result, the total fire remediation provision at the 2024 year end was £249.3 million and compares with £145.2 million at the 2024 half year.
Group completions for 2024 were 1,873, comprising 1,047 open market units (2023: 1,222), 495 units of affordable (2023: 525) and 331 bulk completions (2023: 273).
Total home completions fell 7.3 per cent from 2023 with 2,020, which the housebuilder said reflected a weak order book at the start of the year as a consequence of low levels of confidence in the housing market.
In terms of outlook, the firm said 2025 will be a year of transition as it “implements and starts to deliver on our new strategy for profitable growth.”
It also said the broader economic landscape is showing tentative signs of stabilisation, even if at a more tempered pace than expected, providing a slightly more supportive environment for growth in 2025.
In January last year, Crest Nicholson named its new CEO, the former chief commercial officer at Persimmon Homes, Martyn Clark, to succeed Peter Truscott, following his retirement.
Clark said: ‘I am pleased to report that we delivered FY24 results in line with guidance issued at the start of my tenure and finished the year with better than expected net debt.
“This has been a very tough and disappointing year for the business.
‘Since I joined in June, we have worked with renewed vigour to make significant operational progress, revitalising our sales process, improving governance, upgrading management information to allow for better decision making, and enhancing operational rigour and cost control.
“We now have greater clarity relating to legacy issues with necessary provisions in place, notably via our updated fire remediation provision which includes all buildings known to be in scope.
“This affords us the transparency and understanding to define and deliver a clear future strategy for the business and ensure Crest Nicholson realises its full potential.’
‘I have undertaken a comprehensive review to understand the business, which has included obtaining both internal and external perspectives.
“This has allowed me to identify the market opportunity and craft a strategy that will allow us to maximise that opportunity and optimise the company for sustainable growth with an appropriately scaled cost base that will enhance profitability and consistent shareholder value creation.
“While economic and political challenges persist, I am cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.”
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