Housebuilder Vistry has said it is on track to double profits in 2021, as it joins a wave of firms boosted by the Chancellor’s plans to help buyers get on the property ladder.
Residential businesses told the Evening Standard they had seen a surge in traffic to their websites yesterday after Rishi Sunak’s Budget revealed an extension to the stamp duty holiday beyond March and a new government-backed mortgage guarantee scheme.
Vistry boss Greg Fitzgerald said sales had been strong even with the stamp duty holiday due to finish at the end of the month, with numerous completions set for beyond that date.
But the company should benefit from the latest stamp duty extension and Fitzgerald expects the market will be boosted further by the 95% mortgages plan.
Lenders who provide mortgages to buyers who can only afford a 5% deposit, will benefit from a government guarantee on those mortgages.
FTSE 250 company Vistry, formed via Bovis’ £1.1 billion deal to buy Galliford Try’s housing arms last year, expects to more than double annual pretax profits to at least £310 million.
Pretax profits last year fell 43.5% to £98.7 million. The firm’s housebuilding sites were closed for some seven weeks during the first lockdown, which had a significant impact on the first half performance.
But Vistry had a stronger performance in the final six months of the year when the housing market was reopen and the stamp duty holiday was launched.
A number of people have reassessed housing needs during the pandemic, which has also helped boost housing demand.
