Firm the latest to raise concern over impasse caused by statement still three weeks away
Vistry has said uncertainty about this month’s Budget has been “unhelpful”, becoming the latest firm to raise concerns about the impact the announcement is having on businesses.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who gave a rare pre-Budget speech in Downing Street on Tuesday, is not due to spell out her statement for another three weeks, which last month led London QS Core Five to warn the construction industry was in “a sort of limbo” while it waited to hear what was going to happen.
This morning, in the bellwether S&P PMI index, several commentators blamed Budget speculation for the steepest fall in output since May 2020 and the longest decline in output since the financial crash of 2008.
In a trading update this morning, Vistry said the “delay to the Autumn Budget has been unhelpful” but added: “The Group anticipates that the Budget will provide further clarity on how the government’s housebuilding ambitions will be supported.”
The £3.8bn-turnover housebuilder said its expectation for the year to 31 December remain unchanged.
It said the government’s announcements of measures to boost the affordable housing sector in the summer, including a £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme and a 10-year rent settlement, are “starting to have a positive effect on new partner contracts”.
The group in September reported a 55% drop in pre-tax profit for the first six months of the year, but said activity has “continued to build” since the summer.
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