Vistry has recorded a 20% drop in its share price after its total house completions fell by 9% year-on-year to 15,658 units.

The housebuilder saw its revenue fall by 4% year-on-year in the 12 months to £4.15bn.

Vistry said these figures reflect continued challenges in the open market and the uncertainty related to the Autumn Budget, which also delayed the timing of some partner funded deals.

However, this was partly offset by a 3% increase in average selling price. The firm also recorded a 2% increase in its adjusted profit before tax, totalling £268.8m, while its operating profit dropped by 1% to £353.8m.

Vistry reduced its net debt by £180.7m to £144.2m n the year, with an average daily debt of £733.7m.

Vistry’s chief executive, Greg Fitzgerald, who announced today that will step down from the role in May 2027, said that the company's full-year results fell in line with guidance, assisted by a strong second half performance.

He added: "Vistry delivered one in seven of the country's affordable homes last year, which demonstrates the crucial role the business plays, and will continue to play, in building the homes the UK so desperately needs.

"The group is lean and efficient, and after successfully stabilising, simplifying and reorganising the business in the first half of 2025, Vistry starts 2026 in a fundamentally improved place. Our partnership housing strategy positions us well to play a key role in the delivery of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) 2026-2036, and there is increasing clarity on the financial capacity of our partners."

The housebuilder said it has started the year well, with overall year-to-date sales rate standing at 1.42 sales per site per week, which is almost three times that of the same period last year.

It stated that its order book currently stands at £4.5bn, and it expects to deliver good -year-on-year revenue and volume growth in 2026.

However, Vistry has forecast that the shape of its profit is expected to be similar to that of 2025 in the current year, due to the greater margin impact of the sales initiative in the first half, as well as the step up in demand expected from the affordable housing stimulus in the second half.

Head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, Oli Creasey, concluded: "The 2026 outlook is positive, with an expectation for revenues and volumes to return to growth, albeit with a further drop in margin. The year-to-date performance is quite remarkable, with the sales rate of 1.42x more than double that achieved at the start of last year.

"While not said explicitly, the implication is that the company is discounting prices quite aggressively in order to drive volumes up, as this sales rate is well in excess of anything housebuilders have achieved recently, or even at the very peak of Help to Buy.

"While the company is still a long way from the highs of 2024, share price performance has been steady since the start of 2025, and his successor's will inherit a company with increasingly firm foundations."

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