Latest news with #Vistry Group
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Plans for 600 homes at Sunderland's Sheepfolds submitted
A city council has officially submitted plans for up to 600 new homes at a former industrial proposals, for the land at the Sheepfolds Industrial Estate in Sunderland, include a mix of apartments and townhouses with private gardens, as well as commercial and community buildings have been demolished to make way for the development and the application is seeking to pull down nine more. There have been plans for housing in the area for some time, with the council recently appointing Vistry Group as its preferred developer. Planning documents said it was not possible to provide details about affordable housing at the site at this stage. A financial viability review supporting the affordable housing document said the scheme had "significant viability challenges and will require additional grant funding in order to be delivered", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. The council's affordable housing statement said: "The applicant confirms their understanding of the importance of affordable housing provision and this will be thoroughly considered once ownership details and plot-specific development proposals are confirmed and become available." 'Supress car ownership' A design and access statement said a "key strategy" for the development was to "suppress car ownership for residents".It said this would be achieved by "providing levels of car parking below council standards" and designing the scheme to "keep vehicles out of sight".Planning documents confirmed a maximum of 400 parking spaces would be provided, 20% of which would be for electric vehicle (EV) parking.A decision on the plans is expected by 4 November after a consultation period. Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Vistry pins hopes on significant step up' in affordable housing deals as profits slump
Vistry Group expects a 'significant step up' in affordable housing contracts over the second half after a sluggish start to the year. The FTSE 250 firm told investors on Thursday demand from its affordable homes partners stayed at 'lower levels' in the first half of 2025, owing to funding constraints and uncertainty ahead of the June Spending Review. However, the UK Government unveiled plans last month to allocate £39billion over the coming decade to deliver around 300,000 new social and affordable homes. It hopes the funding will help achieve its goal of constructing at least 1.5 million new properties in this Parliament. The government has also announced a consultation on social rent convergence and a 10-year social rent settlement capping the amount social landlords can increase rents annually at inflation plus 1 per cent. Vistry said: 'We have worked closely with our partners, identifying a strong pipeline of development opportunities, and expect the funding and other important initiatives to support a significant step up in new contracts with our affordable housing partners in H2 2025.' Vistry further said it expects to report adjusted operating profits of around £125million for the six months ending June, which was in line with forecasts, although lower than the £161.8million made over the same period last year. The Kent-based business completed about 6,800 properties, versus 7,792 in the first half of 2024, while the average weekly sales rate decreased from 1.21 to 1.02. It noted open market demand remained impacted by affordability issues for first-time buyers and anticipated interest rate cuts 'being pushed further out.' However, sales from the private rented sector continued to be strong thanks to new market entrants and higher investment activity. Vistry also forecasts higher profits in 2025 on the back of a £4.3billion forward order book, which excludes any benefit from the government's new affordable homes programme. Greg Fitzgerald, its chief executive, said the combined measures 'drive the delivery of the high-quality affordable homes the country so badly needs'. Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, believes the £39billion scheme is 'likely to benefit Vistry more than most other players in the [housebuilding] sector'. He added: 'Given its low valuation and favourable position in the sector, this could be an attractive time to invest in a housebuilder. 'But potential investors will need plenty of patience and confidence that management has ironed out the operational issues that weighed on performance at the end of 2024.' Vistry's profits plunged by almost two-thirds to £104.9million last year after it incurred a £92million blow from underestimating building costs in its southern division. Vistry Group shares were 1.6 per cent lower at 616.2p on Thursday morning and have more than halved over the past 12 months.
