Trading Update

Persimmon PLC
16 December 2005



                    TRADING UPDATE - FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2005

Persimmon plc announces the following trading update ahead of its Preliminary
Results to 31 December 2005, which will be announced on Monday 27 February 2006.

Persimmon expects once again to report an increase in legal completions to c.
12,600 in the year to 31 December 2005 (2004: 12,360). We expect turnover to be
c. £2.3 billion, which would be an increase of 8% against 2004 (2004: £2.13
billion). Average selling prices for the full year are expected to be c.
£180,500 (2004: £172,431), a c. 5% increase compared to 2004.

We therefore expect to announce another set of strong results, in line with the
Board's expectations.

As commented upon at the time of the announcement of our Interim Results on 23
August 2005 and again on announcement of the offer for Westbury, market
conditions have continued to require the use of selective incentives and
additional marketing support. However, by continuing to focus on strict control
of build costs and increased overhead efficiencies we have managed to achieve
satisfactory operating margins in the second half of the year.

Sales rates during the autumn months have been good. We therefore expect our
carried forward sales into 2006 to be at similar levels to 2005 at c. £550
million. The number of current site outlets open is, as expected, slightly ahead
of the same time last year with more than 120 new outlet openings planned for
the first half of 2006.

We are looking forward to completing the planned acquisition of Westbury in the
New Year and we are well positioned to develop our business further during 2006.

For further information, please contact:

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

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