Around 50 jobs at risk as Crest Nicholson warns of ‘subdued’ housing market and Budget uncertainty

It is not the only house builder concerned about the Budget, after Vistry’s partnerships boss said in September that the Spending Review delay had weakened affordable partner demand.

Crest is also seeing some build cost inflation, but believes its “self-help initiatives” can “drive better cost performance”.

In its half-year report in June, the house builder returned to profit after recouping nearly £12m from third parties to help cover the cost of fire safety work.

Its reserves have been adjusted to around £8m due to overstated profit in relation to one development in its Eastern division (based in Essex) between 2022 and 2024.

Crest completed 1,691 homes over the last year, 35% of which were for affordable tenures. This total was below its guidance range of 1,700 to 1,900 homes.

Open market sales increased 5% to 1,095, which it believes is a demonstration of the “enhancements to our sales strategy”.

Martyn Clark, chief executive at Crest, said: “We launched our new strategic priorities at our Capital Markets Day in March this year and have made good progress in executing our transformation plan, Project Elevate.

“Encouragingly, progress across a number of areas is already evident, reflecting the early benefits of actions taken. We believe these will convert to positive financial contributions as we progress further in our transformation plan.

“A key focus area of our strategy is the balance sheet, where we have tightened our grip on inventory and cost control. We also committed to take action to address our land bank to ensure it is right-sized and better aligned to our strategy and product offering.

“We are therefore pleased by the positive progress on land sales on good economic terms in the second half of the year, which, in combination with our cash focus, has seen us finish the year with net debt at the better end of the guidance range of £40-90m.

“These land transactions support our ongoing efforts to strengthen the balance sheet and provide greater flexibility to invest in and acquire mid-premium land opportunities. This positions us well to grow our outlets in the years ahead.

“While near-term market conditions are expected to remain challenging, our enhanced operating discipline, improved balance sheet and clear strategic direction provide a robust platform to navigate the current environment and deliver long-term, sustainable growth.”