30 April 2026
If you are covering Persimmon’s latest financial results, please find below a comment from Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot:
“UK housebuilder Persimmon continues to buck the trend in the sector, with key performance measures growing. Of particular note is the sales rate of 0.76x (sales per outlet per week), which is increased compared to 2025 (0.74x). The size of the order book has also grown, with private sales up 7% to £1.8bn, and with the average sale price up 5% compared to Q1'25. This compares very well to the wider market, where peers have generally been struggling to match 2025 performance.
“Management has noted no "material impact" as a result of the Iran conflict to date, however, there has been some softness observed in enquiry levels over the past few weeks, and growing expectation of cost inflation, which is expected to become more apparent in the second half of the year and into next year. However, Persimmon notes that actual sales rates have remained resilient and institutional buyer interactions are still positive, while the company's vertically integrated model (as an example, they manufacture many of the bricks used in construction) should help to mitigate some cost inflation.
“The company has reiterated guidance as being in-line with analyst consensus figures. What that means is a slight reduction in underlying profit before tax (around 1.5% down) compared to the figure suggested at 2025 year end, although given this change is already in sell-side estimates, it is unlikely to materially alter analyst expectations.”
