Vistry Group has sharply reduced its annual profit forecast after reporting a £661.3m pre-tax loss in the first half of the year, compared with a £40.9m profit previously. The housebuilder blamed weak summer sales, renegotiated affordable-housing contracts and rising costs, and announced a turnaround involving further job cuts, regional office closures and withdrawal from private sales in south-east England.

The company now expects adjusted full-year pre-tax profit of £165m, after an adjusted first-half loss of £83.3m. Revenue fell 9% to £1.7bn, debt rose to £468.8m and completed homes declined 8% to 6,304; a £475m writedown and £73m building-safety provision contributed to the loss. Vistry plans to reduce its land bank from 51,000 to 36,000 plots and focus on building around 12,000 homes annually, with its shares falling more than 8% after the announcement.