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Highlights
- Completions & Sales: Group completed 1,873 units, with an open market sales rate of 0.48 (FY23: 0.52).
- Financial Performance: Statutory pre-tax loss of £143.7 million, impacted by a £166.1 million exceptional charge, including £131.7 million for fire remediation.
- 2025 Outlook: Forward order book of 1,051 units; FY25 profit before tax expected between £28 million - £38 million.
Crest Nicholson Holdings plc (LSE:CRST) has announced its preliminary results for the financial year ending 31 October 2024, reporting a challenging period marked by lower sales rates, increased remediation costs, and operational restructuring. However, the Group remains cautiously optimistic about a market recovery in the second half of 2025.
Performance & Financial Overview
The Group completed 1,873 units in FY24, including 1,047 open market homes, 495 affordable units, and 331 bulk completions. The open market sales rate stood at 0.48, slightly down from 0.52 in FY23, while the average number of outlets reduced from 47 to 44.
Crest Nicholson also executed four land sales worth £45.7 million, disposing of future-phase sites not accessible for housebuilding in the near term. Despite these transactions, financial performance was significantly impacted by a £166.1 million exceptional charge, of which £131.7 million was allocated to fire safety remediation costs, covering all 291 buildings under the Developer Remediation Contract.
The company reported a statutory operating loss of £128.7 million, compared to a £29.9 million operating profit in FY23. Meanwhile, statutory pre-tax losses stood at £143.7 million, down from a profit of £23.1 million in the previous year. However, a stronger focus on cash management helped Crest Nicholson reduce net debt to £8.5 million at year-end.
Operational & Strategic Developments
The Group successfully completed the Farnham project in September after a complex and costly development process. Other legacy sites continue to incur additional costs, but Crest Nicholson remains focused on trading out of these projects.
A key priority has been addressing fire remediation obligations, with provisions now standing at £249.3 million, up from £145.2 million at the half-year mark. Additionally, the Group selectively acquired 1,158 plots to maintain a steady land pipeline for future development.
The company also took steps to enhance governance and oversight, strengthening operational controls, improving management information systems, and introducing a new commercial and build cost control system in H2 2024. These measures are expected to improve cost efficiency and project profitability in FY25.
Crest Nicholson continued to achieve over 90% customer satisfaction ratings and 5-star scores throughout 2024, reflecting its commitment to service excellence. The company also focused on sustainability initiatives, aligning operations with Biodiversity Net Gain regulations and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Market Outlook & FY25 Guidance
The company noted incremental improvements in sales performance in recent weeks, supported by increased website traffic and customer engagement. However, higher-than-expected interest rates continue to challenge sales conversions and slow housing market recovery. Crest Nicholson anticipates a more stable trading environment in H2 2025, driven by pent-up demand for quality homes.
As of January 2025, the Group’s forward order book stood at 1,051 units. Crest Nicholson provided the following guidance for FY25:
- Open market units: 1,050 - 1,150
- Bulk & affordable units: 650 - 750
- Sales rate: 0.5 - 0.6
- Profit before tax: £28 million - £38 million
- Net debt: £40 million - £90 million
