Persimmon writes off £25m TopHat investment amid positive results
The York-headquartered housebuilder, which has reported a pre-tax profit of £146m for the first half of 2024, said it will continue to work with the modular firm as it seeks to boost offsite output.
Persimmon said: “We originally invested in the TopHat business because of its industry-leading facade product. While the broader market challenges for volumetric modular manufacture has led us to take the prudent decision to write down our original investment, we continue to work with TopHat as they reposition the business to focus on the facade product.
“During the first half, we trialled building a timber frame house using the facade at our Space4 factory. This trial saw the house built to roof, with the facade installed, within five days, demonstrating the clear opportunity for build efficiency and key supply chain resilience in the coming years.”
The firm said that it will continue to work to boost offsite production at its Brickworks, Tileworks (its concrete tiling business) and the timber-frame focused Space4 factories.
TopHat, a Goldman Sachs-backed business based in Derby, was this week hit with a winding-up petition filed by Yorkshire property group Harworth, with a High Court hearing due next week.
The wider picture for Persimmon is far from gloomy, however. New home completions in H1 2024 were slightly up on the 2023 figure, at 4,445, with average prices climbing slightly.
Total group revenue increased slightly, to £1.3bn, and although pre-tax profit slipped back from £151m to £146.3m, the group remains on the front foot, spending £195m on land in H1. In all, Persimmon has more than 81,000 plots owned and controlled, 38,000 of which have planning consent.
Group chief executive Dean Finch said: “Persimmon is a growing company with growing opportunities. The first half of the year has been strong with improved sales rates and robust average selling prices, despite ongoing affordability challenges.
“Strengthening consumer sentiment, improving macro-economic conditions and the government’s welcome and ambitious planning reforms that demand more of the high quality, affordable homes that are Persimmon’s core strength, are all supportive of our ambition to grow this year and in the future.
“We are opening more sites this year and will do the same next year, demonstrating the benefit of our continued land investment in recent years. This growing and strong platform means we are ready to deliver more of the homes our country requires while securing industry-leading returns over the medium-term.”
Persimmon, which has upped its completions target amid this more positive environment, continues to advance projects in the region and beyond. This month has seen consent for a hometown project of 153 dwellings on a site off Hull Road, while in July Wakefield Council greenlit 298 homes in Knottingley. Projects in Brompton-no-Swale, North Yorkshire and Shelf in Calderdale have also met with approval this year.
