Crest Nicholson Holdings warned that full-year earnings will swing to a loss after a weaker-than-expected summer trading period.
The housebuilder now expects EBIT of around a £10m loss, down from previous guidance of a £5m to £10m profit.
Full-year completions are forecast at 1,350 to 1,400 homes, cut from a prior range of 1,400 to 1,500.
The company blamed lower open-market demand and continued competitive pricing, particularly in bulk transactions, which has triggered further net realisable value provisions on a small number of sites. Its net open market sales rate over the last six weeks fell to 0.35, down from 0.48 in the first half and 0.55 in the same period last year.
Build cost inflation remains in line with prior guidance of around 3-4%, mostly on materials.
On the positive side, year-end net debt is now expected to come in at £70m to £90m, an improvement of about £30m on previous guidance of £100m to £120m, helped by a further fire remediation recovery from a third party and an additional land disposal completed in the second half.
The company said it remains in constructive discussions with lenders to amend covenants but now anticipates some slippage in the current timetable, with a further update to follow.
"While the trading backdrop has remained difficult through the summer, we are making tangible progress on the actions within our control", chief executive Martyn Clark said, adding that new house types remain on track to contribute from the end of the 2027 financial year.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Crest Nicholson has downgraded full-year EBIT guidance from a £5m–£10m profit range to an expected £10m loss, citing weak summer demand and competitive pricing pressure that forced lower completions guidance to 1,350–1,400 homes from 1,400–1,500. The silver lining—net debt now expected at £70m–£90m, roughly £30m better than prior guidance—reflects asset sales and a fire remediation recovery rather than operational improvement, and is offset by covenant amendment talks now expected to slip further, leaving refinancing risk unresolved.
The profit miss and completion cut signal demand weakness in the housebuilder's southern England market that cost controls and build-cost inflation (3–4%) cannot offset. Better debt progress buys time but does not resolve the underlying covenant amendment dependency; slippage in lender talks raises refinancing uncertainty into FY27.
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