Accountant needs more time to sign off numbers

Vistry is delaying publication of its 2020 report and accounts because of the impact of the lockdown on the availability of auditors to verify the figures.

The housebuilder, formed from a merger at the start of 2020 between Bovis Homes and Galliford Try’s housing businesses, was due to publish its figures for the year to December this Thursday but has now said the results will be published next Thursday instead – the same day as Galliford Try publishes its interim results.

Vistry Roof Truss Procedure4

The firm will now release its results on 4 March

The firm said its auditor, PwC, had requested the delay because of “practical resource constraints due to the current lockdown” and that the additional week will “allow sufficient time for the auditor to complete its audit of the results and ensure the quality of its reporting”.

The announcement comes after reports last month suggesting that a number of firms are likely to be impacted as accountancy firms struggle to deliver services at the usual rate given the homeschooling burden placed on some staff.

Vistry is expected to report a pre-tax profit of around £140m for the year after building 4,632 homes – 32% down on the combined Bovis and Galliford Try completions seen in 2019.