Former chairman praises resilience of housebuilding giant

Mr White, who stood down at Persimmon’s annual general meeting last week, said he was proud of not having to ask shareholders for cash during the toughest downturn he has experienced.

Mr White, 60, started out as an apprentice bricklayer but after joining Persimmon rose through the ranks to transform it into the UK’s biggest housebuilder,

“The biggest achievement by far has been in the last three years, when we’ve had some pretty awful times,” said Mr White, who was chief executive of the group for 13 years before becoming chairman in 2006.

“Like the rest of the industry, we were exposed with high debt and yet we’ve driven that down to virtually nil, without recourse to shareholders.

“We’ve had to battle through it but we’ve come through it better than most.”

Although it was forced to cut thousands of jobs and close sites, Persimmon remains the only major UK housebuilder not to raise cash through a rights issue during the downturn.

Last month, it revealed 2010 underlying pre-tax profits multiplied to £95.5m from £7m in 2009. Revenues were 10.5 per cent higher, at £1.57bn, and its underlying operating margin more than doubled to 8.2 per cent.

Mr White said other achievements include the string of major acquisitions he drove, starting with Ideal Homes in 1996, then buying Beazer Group in 2001 and Westbury Plc in 2006.

However, Mr White said he does not see Persimmon as a consolidator at the moment, despite talk of the group buying a rival.

“We are more focused on growing our margins and taking advantage of a little bit of volume growth,” he said. “If we wanted to do a deal, I think our banks and shareholders would be supportive but I think the likelihood of doing something in the short to medium-term is pretty remote.”

Mr White, who lives in the Midlands, does not plan a full retirement and said he remains “open-minded” to opportunities. However, he added any new role will not conflict with Persimmon.

He is replaced at Persimmon by Nicholas Wrigley. The new chairman is also executive vice-chairman of Rothschild and has more than 25 years’ mergers and acquisitions experience.

“In terms of timing, it’s absolutely right for me,” said Mr White. “I’ve had 32 years and it’s time for a change.

“I’ve had a fantastic career. I could not have believed how it would all pan out. I’ve enjoyed almost all of it, but the last two to three years have not been as enjoyable.”

[email protected]