Vistry shares have tumbled this morning after it said it anticipated a £30million pre-tax loss in the first half of the year. 

It came as the housebuilder's finance boss, Tim Lawlor, announced he will step down following a tumultuous period for the sector amid a slump in demand.  

Shares in Vistry fell 8.16 per cent or 20.6p to 231.8p on Wednesday, having fallen over 60 per cent in the past year. 

The group's new boss, Adam Daniels, announced plans to 'reposition' the business to operate with 'significantly and sustainably' lower financial leverage and healthy profitability. 

The housebuilder said it expected a £30million loss for the six months to 30 June, after the firm took a £50million hit from actions including heavier discounts on slower-selling homes, asset sales and reductions to its landbank.   

Excluding those measures, Vistry would have made about £20million in pre-tax profit, it said, which would still have been a sizeable drop from the £260million-plus over the past two years.

The group's first half was also affected by fewer deals with housing association partners, delays to land sales and higher finance costs.

The firm's average daily net debt climbed to £799million in the first half, while net debt stood at £470million at the end of June. 

Around 6,100 home sales were completed during the period, down from 6,889 a year earlier, while average discounts on private sales rose to 7.1 per cent from 1.4 per cent. 

Vistry said it had more than halved the value of unsold private homes under construction to below £300million and further reduced land buying during the second quarter.

Despite weaker open market conditions in the second quarter, which it attributed to lower consumer confidence following the Middle East conflict, Vistry said it still expected to end 2026 with net cash of more than £100million, helped by pausing its share buyback programme.

Daniels said: 'We are treating 2026 as a transition year to reposition the business to operate with significantly and sustainably lower financial leverage and healthy profitability.'

Daniels is leading a review of the company's strategy and execution, with findings to be revealed in September.

He added: 'I remain absolutely committed to our differentiated partnerships strategy and I believe there is a significant opportunity to develop a more focused Vistry with improved profitability, a stronger balance sheet, higher returns on capital, and more consistent delivery.'

Looking ahead, Vistry expects a stronger second half, boosted by higher completion volumes, improved partner-funded activity following expected affordable housing funding allocations, lower overheads and profits from land sales.