Housebuilder Persimmon said yesterday that the oil price rout has put the market in the north-east of Scotland out of kilter with the rest of the country.
John Cassie, regional chairman for Persimmon Homes in Scotland, said the downturn had dented customer confidence, though the company is still eyeing sites in the region.
Scotland is seen as a strong growth sector for Persimmon, whose pre-tax profits jumped 34% in 2015 to £629.5million on revenues of £2.9billion – up 13% on 2014.
Persimmon has around 47 developments north of the border. Scottish sales now account for about 12% of the group’s revenues.
Persimmon opened a new operating business in Perth at the start of the year to look after its developments in the north of Scotland, supplementing its offices in Bathgate and Glasgow.
Mr Cassie said 36 management staff would be based in Perth. Persimmon has a total Scottish headcount of around 2,500, which includes the top brass right down to site level.
The firm would still be interested in north-east sites if the price was right, Mr Cassie said, adding that the market is still adjusting amid the downturn. He said: “We’re still sustaining a reasonable level of sales, but it is modest compared to a few years ago. The market has affected everyone. Confidence has taken a knock due to the oil price. That’s had an impact on the number of people looking to move house. We’re waiting to see when the situation stabilises.”
The company has two sites in Aberdeen, on Mugiemoss Road and Hopetoun Grange.
Mr Cassie said the Hopetoun Grange properties were nearly all sold, whereas Muggiemoss was “plugging away” but not performing as well as it would have done in years gone by.
For the UK as a whole, Persimmon completed 14,572 homes last year, up 8%, with the average selling price rising by 4.5% to £199,127.
Group chairman Nicholas Wrigley hailed the group’s 2015 figures and said “customer activity” at the start of this year’s spring season had been encouraging. Mr Wrigley said: “We delivered an outstanding performance in 2015, supported by improving customer sentiment and a mortgage market which is responding to customer demand.”
Persimmon shares rose 2.84% to £20.29 on the London exchange yesterday.