4th Mar 2026 10:19
(Alliance News) - Vistry PLC on Wednesday said Executive Chair & Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald plans to retire, as it cautioned that profit margins will likely narrow in 2026 as it offers incentives to boost sales.
The Kent, England-based housebuilder said it was taking a targeted approach to increase sales, which will accelerate the release of inventory, including the use of increased incentives.
Targeted pricing and sales incentives are already yielding higher sales, Vistry said, and will deliver growth in completions from the second quarter and drive cash flow benefits through the second half.
This will help reduce average daily debt with Vistry targeting a closing net cash position of GBP100 million by the end of 2026. This compares to net debt of GBP144.2 million at the end of 2025, which was down from GBP180.7 million net debt at the end of 2024.
Vistry said 2026 has started well with the year-to-date sales rate at 1.42 sales per site per week, up from 0.59 a year ago.
This includes open market sales rates over 40% ahead of the same period last year, primarily reflecting the success of the targeted pricing initiatives, the company said.
"The group expects to deliver good year-on-year revenue and volume growth, and an improvement in adjusted profit before tax in 2026, albeit with a lower overall margin reflecting the incentives offered during the current sales initiative," Vistry said.
Shares in Vistry dropped 17% in response to 522.03 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. Earlier Wednesday, the stock set a new 52-week low of 474.10p. It is down 12% over the past year.
Pretax profit jumped 87% to GBP196.2 million in 2025 from GBP104.9 million in 2024, or by 2.0% to GBP268.8 million from GBP263.5 million on an adjusted basis.
Exceptional items, which are excluded from adjusted profit, were lower in 2025 at GBP29.4 million from GBP128.8 million in 2024.
These mainly relate to building safety issues plus a commitment made by the group, alongside six other UK housebuilders, in response to the potential concerns investigated by the UK Competition and Markets Authority.
Basic earnings per share leapt 92% to 42.2p from 22.0p. EPS increased 6.1% to 59.3 pence from 55.9p on an adjusted basis.
Revenue fell 4.2% to GBP4.15 billion from GBP4.33 billion as completions decreased 9.1% to 15,658 from 17,225.
Adjusted operating profit margin improved to 8.5% in 2025 from 8.3% in 2024.
This reflected "continued challenges in the open market, and the uncertainty related to the November budget which also delayed the timing of some Partner Funded deals," Vistry explained, partly offset by some price increases.
Vistry didn't declare a dividend on Wednesday, but it said it has GBP29 million remaining in the GBP130 million share buyback it started in September 2024.
Executive Chair & Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald intends to retire after nine years at Vistry.
Fitzgerald will step down as board chair at the end of the annual general meeting on May 13, but he will continue to serve as CEO for up to 12 months, or until a successor is appointed.
Vistry said Fitzgerald's retirement will see the separation of the chair and CEO roles.
"A search for Greg's successor as CEO has commenced, and in anticipation of Greg's eventual retirement as CEO, the board has a detailed CEO succession plan which will enable an effective transition of responsibilities," Vistry said in a statement.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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