Persimmon shares rise as sees 2026 performance in line with consensus

Persimmon PLC shares jumped on Thursday after the housebuilder said it is on track to deliver an annual performance in line with market expectations despite sector-wide pressures in the UK.

Shares in the York, England-based company rose 6.2% to 1,329.85 pence in London on Thursday morning.

Persimmon said weekly net private sales per outlet was 0.79 in the five months from July to November, up 3.9% from 0.76 a year earlier. Excluding bulk sales, the figure rose 3.2% to 0.65 from 0.63.

Forward sales stood at £2.82 billion, up 1.1% from £2.79 million. Within this, private forward sales increased 2.9% to £2.15 billion from £2.09 billion.

Persimmon said it expects to deliver around 12,500 new homes in 2026, of which it expects to sell 77% to private buyers, unchanged from a year earlier. According to company-compiled consensus, Persimmon is expected to build 12,472 new houses this year and deliver underlying pretax profit of £455.7 million. In 2025, Persimmon recorded underlying pretax profit of £445.6 million.

Chief Executive Dean Finch said: "We are pleased to have sustained our resilient performance in a challenging market, with our market share continuing to grow. Our clear strategy has allowed the group to increase both sales and planning approvals at a time when the overall sector is declining."

Persimmon expects to deliver "another year of volume and profit growth", which Finch attributed to the strength of its brands, product mix, national footprint, and low-cost operating platform.

Finch also welcomed the 'your first home' scheme, a UK government initiative to enable first-time buyers to purchase a new-build home with a smaller deposit and mortgage. The Persimmon CEO said was a recognition of the "affordability challenges" in the sector.

Persimmon said that affordability constraints and cost pressures increased during the year but that it had acted quickly to mitigate cost pressures in the long term.

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