The housebuilder has reported that pre-tax profits slumped to £351.8 million in 2023 from £730.7m the previous year. New home completions fell by a third to 9,922 from 14,868 in 2022.

The average selling price of Persimmon’s homes increased by 3% to £255,752 in 2023, but a drop-off in the number of sales, combined with a reduced forward order book, caused full-year revenues to fall to £2.77 billion, from £3.82bn a year earlier.

Dean Finch, chief executive of Persimmon, said: “Although the near-term outlook remains uncertain, the significant pent-up demand for homes remains unchanged.

“We are well placed to manage the ongoing uncertainty and we have good visibility over our land pipeline which, over the medium-term, will support a return to growth in outlets and volumes, alongside improved margins and robust cash generation, paving the way for sustainable shareholder returns.”

Persimmon’s results come weeks after Taylor Wimpey said it would build fewer homes this year following a 48% slide in full-year pre-tax profits to £473.8m from £907.9m.