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(Sharecast News) - MJ Gleeson said in an update on Friday that trading at its affordable homes division had improved in recent weeks, although market conditions remained challenging, as it also announced the appointment of former Bellway finance chief Keith Adey as a new independent non-executive director.
Ahead of its annual general meeting, the Sheffield-based housebuilder said open-market net reservation rates at Gleeson Homes rose 22% to 0.50 per site per week in the eight weeks to 7 November, or 0.92 including bulk reservations.
That compared with 0.41 per site, or 0.46 including bulk reservations, a year earlier.
The group said demand for new homes "remains subdued, but steady, with buyers lacking confidence in the current economic environment".
Gleeson said progress on opening new sites continued to be held back by "resource-constrained" local planning departments.
Since the start of its 2026 financial year, the division had opened six new build sites and commenced sales at five, leaving it selling on 59 locations, down from 64 a year earlier.
At its land promotion arm, Gleeson Land, the group said two small sites had been sold since the start of the year and that it was making "good progress" on its growth plans, including its target of submitting 18 planning applications in the first half.
One large site representing around half of the plots budgeted for sale this year remained dependent on finalising a technical solution.
The board said it expected full-year results to 30 June 2026 to be in line with market forecasts.
Separately, the company announced that Adey, a former long-serving chief financial officer at Bellway, would join the board on 1 January.
He would chair the audit committee and join the remuneration committee, with current chair Fiona Goldsmith stepping down from both roles.
"We are delighted that Keith will be joining the board," Goldsmith said.
"With his extensive financial and housebuilding experience, Keith will be a very strong addition to the board as we focus on delivering our strategy to significantly grow the group over the medium term."
At 0854 GMT, shares in MJ Gleeson were up 0.27% at 378p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.