Trading Statement

Persimmon PLC
16 December 2003


                      TRADING UPDATE - 16TH DECEMBER 2003


Persimmon plc announces the following trading update ahead of its preliminary
results to 31st December 2003, which will be announced on Monday, 1st March
2004.

Following an excellent first-half performance where margins, profits before tax
and return on capital all showed good improvements, Persimmon is pleased to
report that second-half trading to date has continued to be strong. Profits for
the full year are expected to be ahead of market expectations and, as we stated
at the interim results in August, we expect to pay a full year dividend at least
15 per cent higher than that of the prior year.

Persimmon welcomes Kate Barker's thorough and detailed interim analysis into the
shortage of supply of new homes in the UK. We are supportive of any measures
that ensure greater certainty, more efficient planning and increased supply.

Despite market commentators continuing to predict a declining housing market,
Persimmon has found that demand is robust and sales rates per site remain
strong. The increase in the Bank of England base rate last month has had no
discernible effect on demand for our new homes. It is worth remembering that
base rates were 4.0% for the duration of 2002 and as high as 6.0% in 2001 and
2000. During that time the housing market continued to be robust and our
management continued to deliver significant earnings growth. Recently where we
have released new developments for sale we have experienced extremely good
sales. New inner-city developments at Manchester, Lancaster, Newcastle and
Glasgow have seen first phases sold within days. In the south, locations such as
Norwich, Bristol and Newhaven have been equally successful. We view this as
further evidence of the continued good market conditions across many parts of
the UK.

As expected, selling price increases have moderated during the year. At the
half-year to 30 June 2003 average selling prices for the Group were up on the
comparative period for 2002 by 15% to £154,110 with the full year increase
expected to be up c.12% on the prior year to c. £155,000. Average selling prices
for the Group in the North are anticipated to have risen by c. 15%, and in the
South by c. 10% during 2003. Persimmon is a truly national house builder with
operations as far afield as Aberdeen in the North and Truro in the South West
and is active in all UK local markets whilst not being over-exposed to any one
region.

Planning delays have continued to frustrate the industry. In the first half of
the year we reported that our volume of legal completions of new homes was 9%
lower than the comparative period in 2002. In the second-half, as expected, we
have succeeded in opening an increased number of new sites, and sales volumes
for the full twelve month period are expected to be only marginally lower than
in 2002. As we start the New Year, we expect to have 10% more sites open than at
the same time in 2002.

Margins have continued to improve in the second-half of the year even though
sales price growth has been less of a feature than it was in the first-half. The
key factors affecting house builders' margins are the cost of labour, materials
and land, as well as rising sales values. Labour and material cost increases
have been kept to a minimum as we continue to realise the benefits of managing a
larger business.

Continued land purchases at sensible prices are fundamental to our business.
During the period we have continued to invest in good land opportunities based
on our longstanding criteria and requirements. The land bank of more than 57,000
plots, with either detailed or outline planning permission, allows the
management to plan ahead with confidence whilst providing the business with a
strong platform for an increase in volumes. Persimmon also owns or holds under
option c. 20,000 acres of strategic land which is currently being progressed
through the planning process.

Persimmon's upmarket brand, Charles Church, has proved extremely popular outside
its original market in the South East. Since acquiring the brand, Persimmon has
expanded into the North and West of England and opened a further office in
Yorkshire in July. By this year-end Persimmon expects to have achieved its
stated target of selling c. 1,000 Charles Church homes per annum.

We are confident that the Charles Church brand offers great potential for
further expansion in additional selected regions. The continued growth of
Charles Church is being supported by the very strong regional management
structure led by Persimmon's Regional Chairmen and Main Board Director David
Bryant.

In our view, the market for new homes has returned to more normal conditions and
is sustainable at current levels. Our sales teams continue to work hard to
achieve sales at good margins whilst customer spend on sales extras continues to
increase. There has not been a general increase in the use of sales incentives,
although customers are taking a more usual amount of time to finalise their
decision to buy. The specification and quality of new homes has improved
significantly over the last few years and buying a new home in the UK is an
increasingly desirable option.

Looking ahead, we are well placed to increase the volume of our new home sales
as market conditions allow and as supported by recommendations from the Barker
review which are expected in the Spring of 2004. Our forward sales revenues for
2004 are already 25% ahead of the same time last year, at circa £550 million.
This very strong order book, combined with encouraging visitor levels in the run
up to Christmas, makes us very confident in the future for Persimmon.

                                     -ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Persimmon plc                              Finsbury Group

John White, Group Chief Executive          Edward Orlebar/ Kirsty Flockhart
Mike Killoran, Group Finance Director      Tel: [phone]
Tel: [phone]

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