He said the house builder was working hard to draw a line under the expected cost of future fire remediation works and had also revised up site completion costs at two now-closed divisions.

Total exceptional charges reported for the year to October 2024 soared to £166m, including an extra £132m to replace combustible materials and £25m for other remedial work at completed sites.

It brings Crest’s total provision so far for safety remediation works to £249m.

Clark took the helm at Crest last June, joining from Persimmon where he was chief commercial officer.

He said the latest big provisions followed intensive work to assess all future risks with all building surveys expected to complete this summer.

Crest spent £33m last year across several buildings requiring further investigative costs and remediation works, including balcony and cladding-related works.

Clark also revealed that Crest had identified that controls were not operating effectively at the now-closed London and Regeneration divisions

The control weaknesses related to the divisions’ management and forecasting of build costs and margin. After a review Crest has made a £25m further writedown to complete defects at four sites.

Clark said: “My initial focus has been on implementing early operational changes at pace, and ensuring we have a solid foundation for the years ahead.

“As part of that, I have reviewed the existing executive committee to ensure we have the right breadth of expertise and capability, in order to enhance decision-making, strengthen internal controls, address operational challenges and drive future strategic priorities.

“I have also made considerable progress in reviewing our strategy and defining my long-term vision for Crest Nicholson to re-invigorate the business for growth.”

He added: “2025 will be a year of transition for Crest Nicholson as we implement and start to deliver on our new strategy for profitable growth.

“We are well-positioned with sufficient land with full planning permission to support our planned outlets and volumes.”

The outcome of the top level business review will be announced in March.

Over last year revenue slipped 6% to £618m, with pre-exceptional operating profit down 38% to £31m.

Completions were down 7% to 1,873 homes.