Watkin Jones books £8.4m loss and plans Bristol student scheme

Turnover slumped to £279.8m, down 23% from 2024, while gross profits fell 42% to £19.4m. Most of the revenue came from previously sold developments on site and entering three new development partnerships during the year.

The loss for 2025 was driven by exceptional charges of £7.1m of land and asset impairments within cost of sales, £5m for building safety remedial costs and £2.2m for the unwinding of the discount rate on the building safety provision within finance costs.

Watkin Jones said it delivered in line with margin guidance on previously sold developments, including the successful practical completion of four schemes. Contributions from transactions signed during the year and effective cost management also fed into the results.

Money set aside for building safety work fell by £1.6m to £46.4m, after the company spent £8.8m completing safety work on six buildings and adding £5m to cover new or revised expected costs.

Watkin Jones said its project pipeline is progressing well, with planning secured for around 1,140 PBSA beds and 230 build-to-rent (BTR) homes across three schemes, as well as three additional BTR development sites that could provide around 1,100 homes, subject to planning.

The developer said it will remain focused on performance drivers within its control, including successfully delivering building projects, carefully managing costs and cash, and continuing to broaden its revenue base with new sources of income.

Alex Pease, chief executive officer of Watkin Jones, said: “FY [financial year] 25 has seen the benefits of our evolved strategy help mitigate some of the effects of the challenging backdrop over the past three years.

“This resilient performance reflects a combination of strong operational delivery, a more agile approach to transactional structuring and the increasing contribution from our diversified activities.

“With a strong pipeline, highly skilled and motivated workforce and continued revenue diversification, we enter 2026 with confidence in the strength of our operational platform and our ability to create long-term value for our stakeholders.”

In October, Scottish minister approved Watkin Jones’ 799-home scheme in Edinburgh, subject to a series of noise concerns being addressed. Plans include 100 affordable homes, 293 BTR homes and 406 PBSA beds.

Last year, Watkin Jones appointed Simon Jones as chief finance officer, and reported strong growth in the demand for BTR for the half year ending 31 March 2024.