Persimmon on track for growth as forward sales surge to £2.1bn

In a trading update issued this morning, the FTSE 100 company said the business was “well positioned” to meet its home completion target of 12,500 and identified actions to mitigate the high cost of building materials, exacerbated by the war in the Middle East, by 2028.

Figures from construction consultancy Thomson Gray, showed inflation was between five and 20 per cent across a range of key building materials and products, including insulation, roofing membranes and sheet materials.

Persimmon’s vertically integrated model, which includes producing necessary building materials like timber, bricks and tileworks, has helped the housebuilder offset rising building costs.

Moreover, the Build to Rent market is also generating more opportunities for Persimmon, with 77 per cent of planned Build to Rent delivery currently exchanged.

For the period from 1 July 2026 to 1 November 2026, private average selling price in the company’s order book grew two per cent to £302,900 (2025: £295,150), and total land spend for the third quarter rose to £378 million (2025: £336m).

Planning approvals in the nine months to September 2026 also grew, rising 12 per cent to £8,722 (2025: 7,753).

So far, Persimmons has opened 57 new outlets, having operated from an average of 263 outlets (2025: 272) during the period, and is set to deliver 100 more this year.

The group also welcomed the government’s Your First Home scheme, of which it plans to play a leading role, but said it was too early to assess the impact on 2027 financial performance.

Group chief executive, Dean Finch, said: “We are pleased to have sustained our resilient performance in a challenging market, with our market share continuing to grow. Our clear strategy has allowed the group to increase both sales and planning approvals at a time when the overall sector is declining.

“We expect to deliver another year of volume and profit growth, reflecting continued progress against our strategy and the strength of our three brands, product mix, national footprint and low-cost operating platform. We remain on track to deliver our 2026 performance in line with market expectations.

“While affordability and build-cost pressures persist across the sector, our disciplined approach to land buying, our outlet network, strong brands and increasingly vertically integrated platform position us well to navigate these challenges, support sustainable growth and drive returns.”