


Britain’s star builder hits trouble
Home truths for Vistry, and questions for the government
The market reaction has been unsparing. When Vistry, one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, issued its second profit warning in a month on November 8th, its shares plunged again. The firm’s market capitalisation has fallen by about £2.4bn ($3.1bn), or around half its value, from its peak in September. Vistry, which was formerly known as Bovis Homes, is blaming bad management and a poor culture at a single legacy division for most of the £165m-worth of unexpected cost overruns. But its travails have cast a shadow not just on the construction industry’s star performer but also on the housebuilding ambitions of the new Labour government.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The stressed is Vistry”

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