Vistry has begun cutting jobs as it prepares to reduce its operating regions from 25 to 12, with the new structure due to take effect in January.
In its 5 November trading update, the housebuilder said regional managing directors and their teams had been confirmed. It reported progress towards £50m of savings in 2027.
Chief executive Adam Daniels said the company had “started the difficult but necessary process of reducing headcount”. The update gave no number for the job losses.
Vistry said it was matching build rates to demand as private housing conditions remained difficult. For scaffolding firms working on housing sites, the pace of construction is the direct point of interest, although the statement identified no changes to specific scaffolding contracts.
Smaller regional footprint
The reorganisation follows September’s strategic review, which set a medium-term target of about 12,000 homes a year and a greater focus on the North, Midlands and West.
That review proposed moving South East operations to a fully pre-sold model, while joint-venture schemes could continue selling privately as they completed. It also set out plans to reduce the owned land bank from about 51,000 to 36,000 plots.
Debt and affordable housing
Vistry now expects average daily net debt of about £800m in the second half, citing market conditions and some partner-funded transactions moving later into the fourth quarter. This is a forecast for the period’s daily average.
The company has begun refinancing its £900m term loan and revolving credit facility. It has also signed its £350m Social and Affordable Homes Programme grant agreement with Homes England.
Its forward order book stands at £3.1bn under the revised definition introduced at the half-year results, which counts exchanged or otherwise legally contracted orders.
