Firm says Project Transform initiative designed to improve performance of housing business
Housebuilder Gleeson said it has begun a further phase of restructuring which is expected to cost it £4.5m in the second half of its financial year.
The firm, which also has a land business, said in interim results this morning that pre-tax profit was down 53% to £1.7m for the six months to December 2025.
Gleeson said it was hit by a further £336,000 of restructuring costs as part of an initiative called Project Transform which has been rolled out to improve the performance of its housing division.
The initiative began last year and last July the firm said housing boss Mark Knight was leaving.
Gleeson racked up £1.3m in restructuring costs in its last full year and, in a note accompanying this morning’s accounts, said it had begun another phase of restructuring last month “which included the removal of certain roles and the restructuring of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside region, including the closure of an office”. It said this would cost a further £4.5m and be booked as an exceptional cost for the second half.
Chief executive Graham Prothero said: “We have strengthened the team by the replacement of a number of managing directors and functional directors as well as additional resource in technical and customer care roles.
“I am pleased with the emerging benefits of the new structure, which along with the experience of the team, gives us the ability to embrace our exciting growth opportunity with confidence.”
Group turnover during the period was up 10% to £173m as the firm said it sold more homes – 848 versus 801 last time.
It said it was “cautiously encouraged by early signs of a recovery in open market demand” but admitted: “Whilst current market expectations remain achievable, a strong spring selling season remains fundamental to our assumptions in delivering on those expectations and we need to see the recovery gain further momentum.
“The bulk market has softened further, as investors remain cautious and focused on pricing. Margins continue to be pressured as net selling price increases are outpaced by build costs and we experience increasing regulatory and tax headwinds.”
It said it would update its full-year guidance for 2026 in April. The consensus for number of homes sold in the year to June 2026 is 1,958 – up from 1,793 last time – with pre-tax profit set for around £24.3m, up from £20.5m.
The firm’s housing business, Gleeson Homes, saw turnover rise 8% to £169m in the six months to December while its land business, which sells land for housing development, saw sales jump 246% to £4.5m.
It said its provision for building safety work during the period remained largely unchanged at £11.7m from the £11.9m it had allocated at the year-end.
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