Housebuilder Persimmon is riding a wave of optimism, jacking up its 2025 target to 11,500 homes as sales perk up in the early months, fuelled by what chief exec Dan Finch calls “positive tailwinds” from Labour’s planning shake-up.
After a bruising few years—thanks to inflation spiking interest rates to 5.25% and choking mortgage demand—the firm’s spotting daylight.
“The underlying market fundamentals remain strong,” Finch insists, with rates now easing to 4.5% since last summer and more cuts on the horizon, nudging affordability back into reach, especially for Persimmon’s bread-and-butter cheaper homes.
The numbers tell the tale: hitting 11,500 would top last year’s 10,664 completions and nudge past 2023’s sub-10,000 slump—though it’s still a trek from the 14,500 peak of 2021.
Sales are humming, up a sixth across all sites in the first nine weeks of 2025 compared to last year, and the private sales order book’s swelled by a quarter.
“Interest cuts have clearly sparked the mortgage market into life, especially for first-time buyers where Persimmon has had a traditionally higher exposure,” says Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter, pinning the bounce on rate relief and wage growth outpacing sluggish house prices.
Labour’s push to fast-track building—aiming for 1.5 million homes by the next election—adds extra oomph, with PM Sir Keir Starmer’s planning tweaks greasing the wheels for approvals.
“The Government’s welcome planning reforms and pro-housebuilding agenda demands more of the high-quality, affordable homes which are Persimmon’s core strength, providing a positive tailwind,” Finch notes, eyeing a sweet spot for the firm’s affordable stock.