Pre-tax profit slumped to £105m from £293m previously on revenue down 6% to £3.8bn.

Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said organisational and leadership changes implemented after a swift review had dealt with shortcomings.

Vistry also introduced an internal whistleblower line for employees. The ‘speak up service’ will now enable staff to voice concerns confidentially to senior management.

Vistry’s profitability was significantly reduced by the cost forecasting issues in its South Division, impacting profit by £92m.

Eighteen sites in the South Division required adjustments to their full-life costs of more than £1m, with five large, multi-phase sites accounting for 60% of the full-life costs movements.

This saw £165m of costs adjustments including a £91.5m hit to adjusted profit before tax as well as a £53m impact in future years.

Vistry has carried out a root and branch review of its commercial procedures and controls to ensure opportunities for further cost reporting inaccuracies does not exist.

Total completions in 2024 rose 7% to 17,225 units with partner funded completions up by 18% to 12,633 units.

Open market completions fell 15% to 4,592 homes, and average selling prices remaining firm.

Building safety provision rose by £117m, largely due to additional buildings identified as needing remediation.

This drove a net increase in the total provision to £324m (31 December 2023: £289m).

The challenging year saw net debt rise to £181m up from £89m at the prior year-end.

Fitzgerald said: “2024 was a challenging year for the group resulting in a disappointing financial performance, despite strong growth in completions and revenue. 

“We have concluded a rigorous set of reviews and year-end procedures with no further issues being identified, and much work has been done to ensure Vistry has the right people, structure, systems and controls in place to move forward with confidence.

“Our focus is now firmly on the future and executing our differentiated partnerships strategy. “

He added: “We are pleased to see the Government bring forward a further £2bn of much-needed funding for affordable homes, and will be seeking to progress as quickly as possible with our partners to deliver quality new homes across the country. 

“We continue to drive a capital light, high return model, with a targeted 40% return on capital employed in the medium term.

“Finally, demonstrating that the group retains a strong financial position remains a top priority for 2025 and we expect to deliver improved cash generation and reduce net debt through the year.”