“The group has delivered a strong performance in the first half which underpins the board’s confidence in its expectations for the full year,” said Greg Fitzgerald, CEO at Vistry (pictured above).

“Our partnerships model is significantly outperforming the broader housebuilding market and we are confident we will deliver over 18,000 completions for the full year and make progress towards our medium-term targets.”

The housebuilder also recorded an expected operating profit increase of circa 10% for the first six months of 2024.

Over this period, adjusted operating profit is predicted to stand at £227m, up from £206.7m in the same period in 2023.

Adjusted profit before tax increased by 7% to £186m.

•   Vistry gets greenlight for 290-home development
•   Vistry secures land for 178 homes for Great Haddon
•   US private equity giant buys 1,750 homes from Vistry for £580m

The housebuilder’s debt position remains marginally lower than 2023; by 30th June 2024, Vistry still had net debt of £323m, down from £329m the year before.

The opening net debt position for Vistry was £207m higher in January 2024 than the previous year, with the group attributing this reduction over H1 2024 to improved cash flow performance.

Vistry is continuing to target a net cash position by the end of the year.

The group has welcomed the general election result and is supportive of the Labour government’s plans to reintroduce mandatory housing targets, reform planning processes, and prioritise brownfield and grey belt land.

Elsewhere, the housebuilder is committed to returning £1bn to shareholders within three years through a combination of special distributions and buybacks.

In April, Vistry commenced a £100m share buyback programme and purchased £51m of shares by June.