Vistry Group PLC shares tumbled 16% on Wednesday, leading the housebuilding sector lower, as it signalled it will prioritise sales growth and cash generation over margins in the early part of this year.
The company’s full-year results for 2025 were broadly in line with expectations, with adjusted profit before tax rising 2% to £268.8 million despite a 9% drop in completions. The improvement was helped by a shift towards higher-margin sites.
However, investors focused on the outlook. Vistry said sales in the open market (as opposed to via its partnership arm) so far in the new year were up over 40% on last year, "primarily reflecting the success of the targeted pricing initiatives" (ie offering pricing incentives to attract buyers).
Analysts at Stifel said the strategy is likely to reduce margins in the near term and could push down consensus profit forecasts by about 5-10%.
The broker said the move should support volumes but warned the immediate effect would be weaker profitability, prompting investors to mark the shares lower.
Vistry also announced that its executive chairman, Greg Fitzgerald, will retire as chair at the company’s annual meeting in May and will step down from the chief executive role within 12 months.
Barratt Redrow fell 1.6% after it also announced that its boss is retiring after 11 years in the role.
Bellway fell 1.6%, while Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey also slipped about 1%, and Berkeley was slightly below flat.