Our Strategy/Five Key Priorities

What this means

We aim to be a trusted partner who reliably delivers an outstanding experience from the moment a customer starts their research into buying a home, through the sales journey and then post-legal completion.

How we do it

• We provide attractively priced, good quality homes.
• We offer a range of sales schemes that help our customers to overcome constraints, enabling them to purchase their dream home. 
• We have dedicated customer service throughout our customers’ house buying and homeowning journeys. 
• We invest in our people, providing robust training pathways (a combination of in-house and externally accredited training), and improved tooling that delivers better employee experiences, in turn enabling our teams to better service our customers.

Progress 

• We are delighted to have been awarded the HBF five-star rating for the second year in a row, and pleased to report a 230bps improvement in customer recommendation on the NHBC eight-week customer satisfaction survey. 
• 370bps improvement in customer recommendation on the NHBC nine-month customer satisfaction survey. 
• On Trustpilot our customers are scoring us on average 4.2 for Persimmon Homes (2022: 3.9) and 4.1 for Charles Church (2022: 4.1), reflecting our continued focus on customer service. 
• Our ISP Sales Excellence Programme has been awarded a Princess Royal Training Award, and 175 sales advisors have participated to date.

Aligning to our sustainability strategy 

• Our new homes are around 30% more energy efficient than older homes, resulting in a warmer and more affordable to run home. 
• Through our Placemaking Framework, we are integrating sustainability into the design of new communities, providing green spaces, sustainable transport, and biodiversity gain.

What this means

We ensure our land investment opportunities meet our strict investment criteria, in high-demand locations where people wish to live and work, and take place at the right time in the housing market cycle.

How we do it

• Our experienced land, planning and design teams bring a consistent approach to our land buying. 
• We work closely with all stakeholders, including land owners, local communities and local planning authorities to deliver new housing in the areas of greatest need. 
• We maintain high-quality consented land holdings, enabling the Group to be resilient to any volatile movements in the land market. 
• We invest in strategic land, securing options on areas of land which will give a stronger return on investment in the future.

Progress 

• 42 new sites acquired in the year, adding 7,230 new plots to our owned land holdings. 
• Forward-owned land supply of 66,742 plots, equivalent to 6.7 years at 2023 volumes. 
• c.13,500 acres of strategic land at 31 December 2023, having added c.1,000 acres in the year.

Aligning to our sustainability strategy 

• All our land acquisitions are subject to rigorous environmental and flood risk assessments, ensuring we respect the natural environment and mitigate against adverse environmental impacts. 
• We assess our long-term strategic portfolio against climate risk, to ensure we are investing in land which is resilient to climate risk, and disclose in accordance with the TCFD framework.

What this means

We aim to operate efficiently in all areas, providing a sound investment case, generating strong cash flows, maintaining financial flexibility, minimising financial risk and retaining financial strength by making well-judged assessments through the housing cycle.

How we do it 

• We maintain a strong balance sheet sustaining continued investment and future returns.
• Maintaining high-quality land holdings through a disciplined approach to our land replacement. 
• We place customers at the heart of our business by pursuing developments that deliver good-quality new housing for the benefit of all potential occupiers. 
• We exercise discipline and strong control over the Group’s outlets and levels of work in progress (‘WIP’). 
• We maintain strict levels of governance and financial discipline across all our operations and financial processes.

Progress 

• Net asset value per share of 1,070p. 
• c.£310m investment in new land in 2023. 
• Disciplined investment in WIP with build rates closely matching sales at 198 equivalent units per week. 
• Net cash of £420m at 31 December 2023.

Aligning to our sustainability strategy 

• Our investment in vertical integration through our in-house manufacturing, Space4, Brickworks and Tileworks, are key contributors to efficiency, sustainable construction and reducing our carbon footprint particularly as we increase our use of timber frames. 
• We have built long-term strategic supplier relationships and framework agreements, embedding sustainability criteria as key requirements.

What this means

We are committed to leaving a positive legacy in the communities in which we work. We are proud to deliver homes and provide jobs for local people in their local communities.

How we do it 

• Our ‘Placemaking Framework’ provides our site design teams with appropriate tools to deliver attractive communities, close to local amenities and that promote customer wellbeing. 
• We enhance local facilities, providing investment in local infrastructure (e.g. transport, education, retail and recreation facilities) through the planning system. 
• The Community Champions scheme donates to charities, sports clubs and local community groups across the country. 
• We deliver energy-efficient homes to our customers, making them less costly to run.

Progress 

• 2,402 affordable homes* provided. 
• The average SAP rating of our homes is 84 (equivalent to a ‘B’ EPC rating). 
• Donated c.£734,000 to 384 charities, sports clubs and community groups across the country through local donations and our Community Champions Fund.

Aligning to our sustainability strategy 

• Our engagement in the wider community is very important to us and as well as providing local energy-efficient homes, local jobs and charitable donations we engage with the broader community including local schools. 
• We provided 2,241 affordable homes in 2023. Or under the planning process, we invest in local communities, providing green space, education and community buildings and this amounted to £81m in 2023.

^{* Homes provided to our housing association partners and discounted open market value homes.}