Among the “throw ’em up and sell ’em fast” exponents of Britain’s big housebuilders, Persimmon has become the master over the past decade. However, delays in the planning system have thwarted the FTSE 100 housebuilder’s volume ambitions this year and puts the group at greater risk of missing profit guidance.
This snarled-up system has slowed the rate at which sales outlets have opened. During the first half of this year there were a total of 65 new sites, when the target was 75. The result was a 10 per cent decline in completions and a warning that the number of homes built for the whole year would amount to 14,500 to 15,000, lower than the just over 15,100 to almost 15,600 that was implied in
