Changing tack before your hand is forced by activist investors is often reputationally prudent. Long-term sector laggard Crest Nicholson need only look at rival Countryside Properties, which said goodbye to its chairman after a hedge fund attack, for proof.
Ambitious growth targets and pledges to strip back costs and simplify operations has spurred a renewal in the FTSE 250 housebuilder’s share price after years of underperformance. Over the past 12 months shares in Crest Nicholson have generated the highest total return in the UK sector. That leaves the group’s market value nearing the same level as peers with superior margin and returns records — hardly compelling.
That share price growth is from a disappointing base: on a three and five-year basis, the group moves
