Finance
UK's Crest Nicholson sees signs of housing market recovery
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 29, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 29, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Crest Nicholson reports a profit miss and warns of weak demand due to high inflation and interest rates, impacting the UK housing market.
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Britain's Crest Nicholson flagged early signs of a housing-market recovery on Thursday, sending its shares up as much as 8%, even though last year's profit missed expectations.
Housing demand had been soft in the run-up to the government's November budget, with fears of tax hikes weighing on buyers — a trend also highlighted by rival builders Vistry and Taylor Wimpey.
However, the fiscal tightening was not as harsh as some had feared, and Crest said activity had improved since late December, with more website visits and sales inquiries, and January sales rates strengthening as interest rates ease.
The stock was on track for its best day since March 2025, up 8% at 146.6 pence by 1039 GMT.
OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
Crest forecast adjusted pretax profit of 32 million to 40 million pounds ($44 million to $55 million) for the 12 months to October 2026. That compares with the 26.5 million pounds it reported for fiscal 2025, which missed analysts' consensus estimate of 32.8 million pounds.
While Crest warned that subdued demand would persist near-term, its projection for 1,100–1,200 open-market completions for fiscal 2026 points to a stabilisation from the 1,095 in fiscal 2025.
The homebuilder has been cutting costs through job reductions, office closures and "right‑sizing" its land bank, while shifting towards the more resilient mid-premium segment, where affluent buyers have shown steadier demand.
"While there is still much debate about the speed of the macro improvement, there are clear signs the business is in a much better shape post the operational improvement," Peel Hunt analysts said.
Crest has also warned it may breach its interest-cover covenant as early as April 2026 in a severe downturn, posing some uncertainty about its prospects, though it said it remains confident in its lender relationships.
($1 = 0.7236 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru. Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman)
Adjusted pre-tax profit is a company's earnings before tax, adjusted for non-recurring items, providing a clearer view of ongoing profitability.
Consumer caution refers to a situation where consumers are hesitant to spend money due to uncertainty about the economy or personal finances.
A cost-saving strategy involves methods and practices implemented by a company to reduce expenses and improve profitability.
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