Fewer homes completed by Persimmon in first quarter

It was down from 1,136 a year earlier to 1,027 for the group which has its regional office in Telford.

Group chief executive Dean Finch said: "Persimmon has had a good start to the year and is on track to deliver growth in completions to between 10,000 to 10,500 for the full year. Our first quarter performance was in line with expectations, and we saw an improvement in sales rates alongside firm pricing.

"Trading over recent weeks has been encouraging with robust visitor numbers and enquiries, giving us confidence for the remainder of the year. Overall, our private forward order book is up 18 per cent on the prior year with the embedded private average selling price ahead of the position at the start of the year.

"We are making good progress in expanding our outlet network and we will continue to position the business for success, maintaining our focus on quality and customer service, and converting our land holdings into active developments."

The new homes in the first quarter included 852 private homes and 175 partnership homes

The private average selling price is around £283,000, up six per cent since the start of the year.

Land spend in the first quarter was £145 m million.

Persimmon opened 28 outlets in the first quarter ending the period with 263 outlets.