Crest Nicholson trims profit outlook in faltering UK housing market

(Reuters) -Homebuilder Crest Nicholson lowered its profit forecast on Tuesday after missing its home completions target in a subdued British housing market, sending its shares down 12% in early trading.

Bigger rivals, including Barratt Redrow and Taylor Wimpey, had already flagged waning demand as buyers grow cautious ahead of potential property tax changes in the government budget on November 26.

Crest said it completed 1,691 homes in its 2025 financial year, at the lower end of its 1,700 to 1,900 target. Weekly sales on the open market for the last 13 weeks of the financial year slowed to 0.45 per development site, compared with 0.53 in the first half.

The company now expects to report adjusted pretax profit for the year to October 31 at the low end of its forecast range of 28 million to 38 million pounds, or slightly lower.

CEO Martyn Clark acknowledged that near-term market conditions are likely to remain challenging but said the company was committed to addressing its land bank to ensure it is "right-sized and better aligned" to the company's strategy.

As part of its Project Elevate turnaround plan, Crest has begun a consultation on closing one divisional office and cutting about 50 jobs.

Crest said it had successfully disposed of five land parcels from larger sites and secured about 50 million pounds of land receipts for fiscal 2026, keeping net debt at the better end of its guidance range of 40 million to 90 million pounds.

JPM analysts said the forecast cut is unlikely to be well received by the market, given that other housebuilders have maintained guidance despite uncertainties across the sector.

($1 = 0.7592 pounds)

(Reporting by Ankita Bora and Raechel Thankam Job in BengaluruEditing by Subhranshu Sahu and David Goodman)