Countryside Properties PLC CEO steps down as quarterly sales and

Countryside Properties (LSE:CSP) PLC chief executive Iain McPherson stood down with immediate effect as the company announced a substantial fall in first-quarter house sales and profits.

The UK housebuilder saw quarterly profits drop by over half to £16.5mln from £36.6mln the year before as revenues fell to £249.8mln from £363.8mln – missing market expectations.

It sold 809 homes in the quarter ended 31 December, compared with 1,280 in the same quarter in 2021 – failing to capitalise on the booming housing market.

The FTSE 250 listed company said its chairman John Martin will step in as interim CEO whilst a search for a permanent boss is conducted.

“McPherson has led Countryside through a challenging period, including the Covid pandemic, and has clarified the group’s strategy, which is to focus all of our resources on our market-leading partnerships business,” said Martin.

Its partnership businesses also saw profits plummet from £24mln to £11.3mln.

Countryside also appointed Peter Lee, who is a partner at one of its largest shareholders, Browning West, as non-executive director from 21 January.

Its share price nosedived 22% on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, larger rival Persimmon today reported higher sales at higher prices and sold homes at a 20% quicker rate than pre-pandemic, while yesterday sector peer Vistry posted an update revealing “continued improvement” with completions up 41%.