Persimmon chief to step down despite the company £ 1bn profit – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

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() Persimmon has faced criticism over the quality of its houses. Photograph: Roger Bamber / Alamy

biggest annual profit ever made by a UK housebuilder . It banked a profit of £ 083, on every house sold, compared with £ 083, (in) .

However, Persimmon has been under pressure over the quality of its houses – on top of the pay row. Jenkinson, previously the managing director of the York-based business, has spent years at the company and has informed the board of his wish to step down “in due course”, Persimmon said. The firm has started looking for a successor.

Julie Palmer, a partner at the corporate restructuring consultancy Begbies Traynor, said: “Persimmon’s financials may be on a solid base currently but the company reputation is continuing to show cracks as reports of customer complaints are rife for the housebuilder, with concerns around its build quality.

“This has ultimately led to Dave Jenkinson’s departure and his replacement will need to rebuild the company’s image.”

Persimmon is battling to restore its tarnished reputation. In December an independent review commissioned by the firm found a “systemic nationwide failure” to install fire-stopping cavity barriers that left customers exposed to an “intolerable” fire risk . It also said the failure to meet minimum building standards was “a manifestation of poor culture” at the firm.

Jenkinson’s predecessor, Jeff Fairburn, then the UK’s highest-paid chief executive, was ousted in November () . His £ 90 m bonus in was attacked as “obscene” by politicians, charities and corporate governance experts – in particular because Persimmon has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the government help-to-buy program, which will run until . It accounted for 63% of the firm’s sales last year. Jenkinson also received £ 59 m in pay and bonuses in and .

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Persimmon sold , houses last year, down 4% on after it slowed down the build process to improve quality following a deluge of complaints from customers. Problems with poor workmanship extended to the upmarket Charles Church brand owned by Persimmon. The average selling price rose to £ , from £ 361, .

(The last annual report) showed

Jenkinson said: “I’m very pleased with the progress that we’ve made over the last year in reshaping Persimmon’s approach and culture while at the same time maintaining our operational momentum.”