Persimmon reduces debt to £600m

House builder Persimmon managed to reduce its debt to £600m by the end of 2008, down from £906m in June that year.

In a trading update issued to the City this morning, the company said its results for the full year would be in line with expectations, with a turnover of around £1.76bn.

Persimmon, which completed 10,202 homes at an average selling price of £172,000 last year, said that its focus would continue to be on conserving its cash until there was an improvement in the restricted credit conditions.

It added that it was in "continued discussions" over refinancing its credit facilities and claimed to have made "good progress".

Forward sales for the company total around £400m, and the company said it viewed the long term future of the UK housing market as good.

The company's full-year results for the 12 months to 31 December 2008 are scheduled to be published on 3 March this year.