Vistry Group Plc will cut hundreds of jobs as part of the housebuilder’s plan to solely focus on building homes for affordable housing providers and rental landlords in the UK.
The restructuring — first announced last month — will see the company’s headcount reduce by about 200, according to a statement Monday. The company had warned of job cuts in September, given the reduction of five regional business units, but hadn’t specified a number.
The Kent-based company expects about £25 million ($30.4 million) in annualized cost savings from the integration of partnerships and housebuilding.
Read more: Homebuilder Vistry to Cut Hundreds of Jobs Amid Housing Drop
While some are betting the Bank of England may now be at the tail end of its hiking cycle — which has seen officials deliver the sharpest series of rate rises in three decades — mortgage rates still linger at levels close to 6%. This, paired with the dramatic rise in the cost of living, has halted many prospective buyers’ dreams of home ownership.
Faced with declining private house sales, Vistry announced last month it would be focusing solely on constructing homes for affordable housing providers and rental landlords, shifting to a model whereby it partners with the likes of land owners and housing associations to redevelop plots of land. The firm had already been building out its partnerships business following the acquisition of Countryside in 2022.
The job cuts announced on Monday are separate from the approximate 4% reduction in roles linked to the Countryside purchase, the company said.
Vistry said the typical seasonal increase in private sales since September had so far failed to materialize. The group’s average weekly sales rate since July 1 has been 0.60, compared with 0.64 in the same period a year ago.
Read more: Bellway Sees Sales Slide as Mortgages Weigh on UK Housing
The declines are in line with recent announcements by rivals. Bellway Plc said last week it expects sales to slump further in the coming year as high mortgage costs and inflation deter buyers. That’s after Berkeley Group Holdings Plc said a month earlier it was halting investments in new projects.
--With assistance from Sam Unsted.
