One of the UK's largest housebuilders, Vistry, has warned that its first-half profits will be 'significantly' lower than the previous year, blaming heightened uncertainty from the US-Israeli war on Iran. The company, which owns Bovis Homes, Countryside and Linden Homes, said it had been forced to cut prices and offer bigger incentives to lure cautious buyers.
Shares in Vistry fell 10.5% in early trading on Wednesday, hitting their lowest level in nearly 15 years, after the company issued a stock market update ahead of its annual general meeting. It stated that the level of macroeconomic uncertainty had increased, and with it the range of potential outcomes for the current year.
Vistry noted that while sales rates were higher than a year earlier, buyers had become cautious in recent weeks 'reflecting uncertainty arising from the Middle East conflict'. The war had also created upward pressure on building material costs and worker wages, which were likely to continue into the second half of the year.
The housebuilder said it was mitigating these pressures where possible, including by negotiating with suppliers, but expected the combination of incentives and discounts to weigh on profits. It has also halted its share buyback programme to prioritise debt reduction. Vistry expects a partial recovery in the second half of the year, with full-year profits flat compared to 2025.
New chief executive Adam Daniels is launching a company-wide operational review, with results expected in September. The warning comes after Vistry issued three profit warnings in 2024, though it managed to report a 2% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit for the 2025 financial year.
Estate agent Savills also reported greater caution among buyers and sellers in the UK since the onset of the Middle East conflict, noting that its Middle Eastern business, which accounts for roughly 5% of annual underlying profits, had 'slowed materially' during the crisis.
