Vistry's half-year results next week will be a curtain-raiser for the strategic review being drawn up by its new chief executive, according to RBC Capital Markets.
The broker, which rates the housebuilder "underperform" with a 180p price target, said the results on Thursday were the most eagerly awaited in the sector all year.
The shares were trading at 272p on Friday.
Vistry pivoted three years ago from traditional housebuilding towards partnerships, under which it builds homes funded by housing associations and other public sector bodies rather than selling them on the open market.
RBC said the model was not yet delivering the results the company had hoped for.
The broker wants chief executive Adam Daniels, who took the helm this year, to spell out how partnership contracts actually generate cash and returns, and to provide a breakdown of which deals are profitable and which are loss-making.
Analyst Anthony Codling said investors were looking for a frank, "warts-and-all" account of what had gone wrong, what could be fixed, and how much the repairs would cost.
Debt is a central concern.
Average daily net debt has climbed to £799 million in the first half of 2026, up from £698 million two years earlier, despite the partnership model having been sold to investors as capital-light.
Vistry is guiding to more than £100 million of net cash by the year-end, a swing of roughly £570 million from its position in June, though RBC noted that market consensus is more cautious.
Codling flagged execution risk across the plan, including any slippage in government funding for affordable housing or a further deterioration in open-market sales.
He also questioned why the finance director, Tim Lawlor, was leaving mid-transition, at what RBC called the most critical period in the company's recent history.
Vistry shares have fallen 58% over the past year.
The results are due on Thursday.
