Crest Nicholson has launched another round of cost cuts after warning pre-tax profit for the year will come in at the bottom end of expectations.

The house builder is shutting one divisional office and placing around 50 roles at risk as it battles a subdued summer sales period and jitters over government tax plans ahead of the Budget.

In a trading statement covering the year end, Crest said adjusted pre-tax profit would land at the low end of its £28m–£38m range, with completions at 1,691 homes against a target of 1,700–1,900.

Chief executive Martyn Clark said the company was making “good progress” delivering its transformation plan, Project Elevate, with early wins emerging across cost control, sales performance and land discipline.

Crest pushed through five land parcel disposals in the second half, helping drive year-end net debt to the better end of its £40m–£90m guidance range. Around £50m of land receipts are already secured for FY26 as it continues right-sizing the land bank and pivoting towards more mid-premium sites.

The group reported stronger open-market performance, delivering a 5% rise to 1,095 homes and nudging its sales rate up to 0.51 (FY24: 0.48), although the final 13 weeks settled back to 0.45.

Crest said build cost inflation remains in line with the wider sector but that internal efficiency programmes are now underway to claw back margin.

Planning momentum continues to pick up, with 66% of its strategic land bank now allocated or in draft allocation – a sharp rise on last year’s 50%.