Persimmon is on track to report a second consecutive year of annual profits topping £1bn when it reports on Thursday, amid a frenzy of speculation about the prospects of a housing bonanza sparked by Boris Johnson’s election victory.
It is not so much that the prime minister is poised to plough billions into housing — his sights are on roads and bridges (although the Tory manifesto said one million homes would be built over the next five years) — but more the fact the population feels more confident.
That’s the theory, at least, and HSBC put the fans under the sector last week with “buy” ratings on the nine housebuilders it covers — including Persimmon. “The decisive general election result has brought the prospect of