Housebuilder says its construction sites were running at 65% last week

Persimmon has announced it will be reopening its sales sites from tomorrow.

In an update to the City, the housebuilder, which has not furloughed any staff, said following the new government guidance earlier this week it had made the decision to reopen its sales offices across England from 15 May.

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Persimmon’s sales offices will be open from tomorrow

The firm said: “All sales offices and show homes will reopen with strict new social distancing and additional hygiene measures in place, which are fully compliant with the latest UK Government guidance.

“Initially, sales consultations will be on a pre-booked appointment basis only.”

Persimmon, which began a phased return to work on its construction sites in England and Wales more than two weeks ago, confirmed that last week around 65% of production capacity had been restored.

The group’s businesses in Scotland remain in shutdown, pending further guidance on a restart timetable from the Scottish government.

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David Jenkinson, Persimmon chief executive, said: “Persimmon decided not to access any form of government support during the shutdown period and has maintained its commitments to its colleagues and communities in full throughout.

“Now, as we re-start activity, this decision is also enabling us to get back to work swiftly and safely.”

The firm also provided a trading update saying that i the eight weeks to 10 May it had secured 1,351 private sales reservations, with a total of 1,300 legal completions being made in the same period.

It said cancellation levels had remained in line with historic trends.