"Persimmon has had a good start to the year. Trading over recent weeks has been encouraging with robust visitor numbers and enquiries, giving us confidence for the remainder of the year"
- Dean Finch - Persimmon
Persimmon has seen an improvement in sales rates during its first quarter, according to the firm's latest trading update, reiterating that it was set to deliver completions growth in the range of 10,000 to 10,500 for its full year, against the 9,922 of 2023.
During Q1, its net private sales rate per outlet rose 6% on Q1 2023. Excluding bulk sales, this dipped to 0.61. The firm said it had traded in line with expectations, completing 1,027 homes, down slightly on Q1 2023’s 1,136.
Persimmon commented: “Customer interest remains good, and our marketing campaigns continue to generate healthy traffic to sites and online, despite ongoing affordability constraints."
Its private forward sales position during the period increased to £1.14 billion from Q1 2023’s £0.97 billion. Since the start of the calendar year, the company’s private average selling price has risen 6% to £283,000.
Persimmon opened 28 gross outlets in the first quarter, ending the period with 263 outlets. This was a 2% lift on the start of the year.
It also reiterated that its first-half performance would depend on embedded build cost inflation and lower average selling prices. However, these would improve in the second half, it said, given the increased average selling price in the current forward order book “and broadly neutral build cost inflation since the start of the year”.
Dean Finch, Persimmon’s group CEO, said: “Persimmon has had a good start to the year. Trading over recent weeks has been encouraging with robust visitor numbers and enquiries, giving us confidence for the remainder of the year.
“Overall, our private forward order book is up 18% on the prior year with the embedded private average selling price ahead of the position at the start of the year. We are making good progress in expanding our outlet network and we will continue to position the business for success, maintaining our focus on quality and customer service, and converting our land holdings into active developments.”
