Crest Nicholson finds defects on four sites

Crest Nicholson has found “certain build defects” on four completed sites since publishing its annual results in January, which will cost an estimated £15m to repair. The housebuilder said the sites were completed before 2019, when the group closed its legacy regeneration and London divisions. Third-party consultants will be appointed to provide “greater assurance on the adequacy of current provisions” around these and other sites completed before 2019. In a trading update this morning, the housebuilder said sales per outlet per week had increased to 0.52 across 46 sites during the past eight weeks, up from 0.44. “Sale prices achieved have been in line with expectations and cancellations remained at normalised levels,” said the housebuilder. “Build activity in the sector continued to operate at a lower level, which is now resulting in lower labour costs in some areas. Overall build cost inflation has largely stabilised and at a level lower than prior year.” Completions for its 2024 financial year are expected to be in the range of 1,800 to 2,000 homes, weighted around 35-65% in favour of the second half of the year. Crest Nicholson attributed this to the opening order book and the low level of reservations in the first two months of the financial year. Sales prices are expected to remain stable during the period, while net debt at the end of February is “tracking lower than expected as a result of lower build and land spend”. The housebuilder expects the trend to continue in the remainder of the financial year.