Housebuilder Persimmon has indicated its market continued to be challenging in the first part of the year.
The York-based developer issued an update to investors in which it said first quarter performance had seen "some signs of encouragement" with more visitors to its sites and improving sales figures. Having started the year with a lower order book, the firm said that if sales continued on a similar path it would see full year completions toward the top end of its expectations - between 8,000 to 9,000 homes, still well below recent years.
The update comes as Persimmon announces its £25m investment into offsite housebuilder TopHat, which will give it access to the Derby-based firm's brick façade and modular products. It is hoped TopHat's offer will help Persimmon to support future volume growth.
