Persimmon – building momentum into 2026
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Housebuilder Persimmon came out of the gates swinging by delivering a 2025 performance ahead of market expectations. Net private sales rates were in line with the prior year, despite a softening market ahead of the UK Budget in November. But both the order book and average selling prices were trending higher. That’s in part due to Persimmon’s houses being priced around 15% below the newbuild national average, offering some resilience to the current market challenges. As a result, full-year underlying pre-tax profits are now expected to land at the top end of current market expectations, which currently stand at £415-440mn.
Looking ahead, buyer affordability will remain a key challenge for Persimmon to wrestle with in the new year. The market’s currently pricing in two rate cuts by the end of 2026, which should help buoy buyers’ purchasing power slightly. Persimmon expects cost inflation to remain at a manageable level, helped by its in-house materials business, which provides quicker and cheaper access to key materials, shaving off around £5,000 worth of costs. With its valuation sitting well below the long-run average, Persimmon offers an attractive way to play the UK housing market, and there’s a prospective dividend yield of 4.7% on offer to reward potential investors for their patience.”