Leave vote could halt hiring, warns Crest Nicholson

A vote to leave the EU could stop housebuilder Crest Nicholson from buying new land and taking on new staff for nine months, chief executive Stephen Stone said.

Stone said the company was pushing for growth but was “likely to take a break on investment in land and people” as the house- builder’s board takes the temperature of a post-Brexit UK economy.

“‘Why risk it?’ would be my view,” Stone said. “We would review it quarterly and see what was happening. We could take a pause for six to nine months.”

Stone — who posted a 25% rise in pre-tax profits for the six months to April 30 — added: “My worry is that every company pauses and that is a self-fulfilling pause across the economy.”

Housebuilders are also likely to be affected by potential curbs on overseas workers, a traditional source of labour for the industry from the age of the Irish “navvies” through to eastern European migration, Stone said.

The Home Counties builder’s London site in West Wickham has been bolstered by extension of the Help to Buy scheme but sales have been tougher on its more expensive Southwark and Putney projects.

Peel Hunt analyst Gavin Jago said: “The medium- to longer-term fundamentals continue to look good and we expect Crest to continue outperforming in terms of growth.”