Vistry Group (LSE:VTY) told investors it expects a pre-tax loss of approximately £30m in the first half of 2026, after the housebuilder absorbed around £50m of charges.
The charges come from deliberate cash-generation actions including enhanced pricing discounts, accelerated asset sales and one-off impairments on low or nil-margin sites.
Stripping out those cash actions, the group noted it would have posted a modest first-half profit before tax of around £20m, itself weighed down by lower volumes of partner deals caught between funding programmes, timing of land sales and higher finance costs.
"We are treating 2026 as a transition year to reposition the business to operate with significantly and sustainably lower financial leverage and healthy profitability," said Chief Executive Adam Daniels, who has been in the role for three months.
Completions in the first half fell to around 6,100 homes from 6,889 a year earlier, while the average discount on private sales widened sharply to 7.1% from 1.4% in the first half of 2025.
Net debt stood at £470m at 30 June, with average daily net debt of £799m in the half; the group is targeting average daily net debt below £650m in the second half and net cash exceeding £100m at year end.
The board expects full-year adjusted profit before tax in line with current analyst consensus of £200m, with a materially stronger second half driven by higher volumes, confirmed affordable housing allocations, delayed deal completions and reduced overhead costs following a voluntary exit scheme expected to deliver annualised savings of around £25m.
Full details of Daniels's strategic CEO Review, including conclusions on regional footprint and land bank reduction, are due to be presented alongside the half-year results on 24 September.
