BENGALURU: British homebuilder Vistry‘s shares dropped about 25% to a near-decade low on Wednesday after the company said profit margins would fall in 2026 and that CEO and executive chair Greg Fitzgerald is to retire.
Vistry expects lower overall margins in 2026 due to incentives offered to boost sales amid affordability constraints on home buyers.
“We need to get the sales going,” adding it was important to generate cash and reduce capital tied up in projects, Fitzgerald told analysts.
He also said the developments in the Middle East, if they persisted, could translate into higher build costs and weaker consumer sentiment.
Fitzgerald will step down as chairman at May’s annual meeting but continue as CEO for up to 12 months or until a successor is appointed. The CEO and chairman roles will be separated after his retirement.
During his nearly nine-year tenure, Fitzgerald steered Vistry through crises including customer-service issues and takeover pressures.
RBC Capital Market’s Anthony Codling said Fitzgerald’s strategy to shift Vistry into partner-funded developments from the mainstream was “bold and a logical move given the dire shortage of social and affordable homes”.
But the execution of the strategy has, so far, not lived up to the group’s bold aspirations, Codling added.
Vistry generates most of its sales through partnerships with local authorities, housing associations and government providers.
Separately, Britain’s largest homebuilder Barratt Redrow said its CEO David Thomas will retire after 11 years at the helm.
Builders sacrifice margins to drive sales
Vistry becomes the latest UK builder to warn on profits amid subdued private-buyer demand.
Bigger rivals including Persimmon have also relied on marketing and incentives, including discounts, to stimulate demand.
Vistry said its open-market sales rates so far in 2026 were running more than 40% ahead of last year due to targeted pricing initiatives.
Its 2025 adjusted pretax profit of 268.8 million pounds ($359.22 million) missed market expectations.
Vistry expects net cash of about 100 million pounds by end-2026 and said it would complete its current share buyback but plans to stop returning money to shareholders to prioritise debt reduction.
Building materials supplier SIG on Wednesday said any recovery in market conditions were unlikely until the second half of 2026.
