24 September 2026
If you are covering Vistry's latest results, please see the following comment from Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot:
"It's not a good sign when the new CEO has to reassure investors that a company doesn't need a rescue equity raise to survive. That's how Vistry's new chief started today's H1'26 report, and the rest of the report doesn't make for easy reading. Completions are down 8%, and gross margins have dropped to just 4% as the company discounts some hard-to-sell stock in order to prioritise cash generation. Despite this, management have reduced guidance for the company's year-end cash balance by £100m to a neutral net cash/debt position.
"Profitability has missed guidance, and been downgraded further. A few months ago the company released an H1 trading statement suggesting that adjusted losses before tax for the period would be c.£30m. However, today's results have missed that estimate substantially, falling to a £83m loss. Management continue to guide to a meaningful recovery in profitability in H2'26, but guidance has been adjusted downwards again. Having been first set at £270m profit in March'26, it is now reduced to £165m. However, we note that guidance was also reduced in May and July of this year, and wonder how confident the market will be that the latest revision is the final one.
"The new CEO has completed a review of the business and set out a change in focus. In particular, Vistry is planning to move to a different geographical focus, looking to increase exposure to regions where its mixed tenure model works best, notably the North, West and Midlands. The company will end open market sales in the South East of England, and is now targeting 12,000 completions a year to reflect this change in focus.
"Vistry's falling profitability, and falling forward guidance, continue to be a major concern for investors. Management remain confident that the short-term pain will result in better long-term outcomes, but that pain is still getting worse, not better. Investors will be watching the November trading update and FY results closely for signs of improvement, but further cuts to guidance have to stop before investor confidence can start to return."
