News Archives

2005/2006 House Builder Acquisitions Activity

 

Consortium acquires McCarthy & Stone Plc (September 2006)

Mother Bidco Limited (Non-Constituent) has won a £1.1 billion takeover battle for retirement homebuilder McCarthy & Stone Plc.  The Mother Bidco Consortium consists of The Bank of Scotland (58%), David and Simon Reubens’ Aldersgate (33%) and Hunter's West Coast Capital (9%).

Leadbitter Construction buys Denne Construction (September 2006)

Leadbitter Construction has acquired Denne Construction.  The purchase is expected to strengthen Leadbitter Construction’s affordable housing division.  The acquisition will increase the turnover for Leadbitter Construction to around £250 million.  Denne Construction’s management is expected to remain in post.

Rok Property Solutions PLC buys Tulloch Construction Group (September 2006)

Rok Property Solutions PLC has acquired Tulloch Construction Group after entering into a conditional agreement with the Group.  The deal will be worth around £31.3 million.  Rok already has a strong Scottish market and Tulloch will fit well with its existing operations.  Rok Property Solutions PLC has not acquired the entire Group and the house building division remains untouched.

 

The acquisition was completed on 3rd October and Mr David Sutherland, the Executive Chairman of Tulloch Limited, has agreed to join the board of Rok Property Solutions Plc as a Non-Executive Director on completion.

Stewart Milne Group Limited acquires Nuttall Construction Limited (September 2006)

Stewart Milne Group Limited has announced the multi-million pound acquisition of Nuttall Construction in Manchester.

 

Nuttall Construction Limited, a family-owned firm founded in 1980, has both house building and general construction operations.  It employs around 100 people in Manchester plus about 150 contractors.  The Company will be rebranded as Stewart Milne Homes within the next year, although its current management team will remain in place.

 

Nuttall Construction Limited was expected to build more than 200 houses this year and turn over around £50 million.  Following the acquisition, Stewart Milne plans to increase the number of new Nuttall Construction homes significantly and anticipates the figure could increase to 700 houses a year by 2010.

 

Stewart Milne has a Scottish land bank of about 10,000 plots and plans to trade some of these with national house building companies for plots south of the border.

 

Stewart Milne has disclosed that more acquisitions of English house building companies could follow, and intends to have three by the end of the decade.

 

The Group already has a timber frame-housing factory near Oxford that is responsible for around 10% of group turnover, although it is aiming for English operations to make up 30-35% of turnover by 2010.

 

Kier Group PLC acquires Hough Bourn Developments Limited (August 2006)

Kier Group PLC in Bedfordshire has acquired Lincolnshire-based house builder, Hugh Bourn Developments Limited, for £53.3 million.  Hugh Bourn Developments Limited is a well-established regional house builder that has operated in Lincolnshire for over 30 years.  The acquisition forms the foundation for a fifth division within Kier’s residential business, expanding the Group’s reach to the north of Allison Homes existing operations.

Kier Residential subsidiary, Kier Homes Northern, undertook the acquisition, which covers the entire issued share capital of Hugh Bourn Developments Limited from the Bourn family representing the market value of land, work in progress and other assets and liabilities. 

The majority of the 1,197 residential plots, acquired with the business, have a combination of outline and detailed planning consent and include a small number of built and partially built units.  In its first year, Hugh Bourn Developments Limited is expected to trade from 21 trading outlets and is predicted to enhance earnings for the Group. 
 
Hugh Bourn Developments Limited disclosed a profit before tax for the year ended 31st March 2006 of £4.2 million based on the historic book value of land.  On 31st March 2006, the gross assets of the firm were £29.9 million.

McInerney Holdings buys Bowey Homes for £23 million (August 2006)

McInerney Holdings (UK) Limited has paid £31 million, including £6.9 million debt, for Bowey Homes to advance its operations in the North-east.

Bowey Homes and McInerney Holdings (UK) currently build between 300 and 350 homes in the North-east a year between them - McInerney Holdings (UK) aims to increase that figure to 500 homes within two years.

 

The deal has accelerated the Company's growth plans by two years.  McInerney Holdings (UK) plans to keep the Bowey name in the short to medium term but eventually phase it out.  Bowey Homes will operate as part of the McInerney Homes North Eastern region.  Mr Barry Smith will be the Managing Director of both McInerney Homes North East and Bowey Homes.

Barratt Developments buys Squire Homes for £25 million (June 2006)

Barratt Developments PLC, has completed the acquisition of Guildford based Squire Bridge Homes Limited for £25 million.  The acquisition is earnings enhancing from day one.  The office of Squire Bridge at Guildford has closed and been absorbed into the Barratt Southampton office.  It is understood that none of the existing staff have been retained.

 

The core assets of Squire Bridge consist of four prime development sites in Hampshire and West Sussex together with some completed properties.  The proposed developments will become part of the Barratt Southampton & KingsOak Divisions, and are expected to provide over 250 low-rise, traditionally built homes.

David Wilson Homes acquires Roland Bardsley Homes (April 2006)

David Wilson Homes Limited (the house building arm of Wilson Bowden PLC) has acquired Roland Bardsley Homes Limited, for a purchase price of £25 million.  Wilson Bowden is also assuming debt of approximately £24.0 million, which, including costs, gives the acquisition an enterprise value of approximately £49.5 million.  The consideration is being paid in cash out of the Group’s 2006 land budget.

 

Over the past three years, Roland Bardsley Homes Limited has completed around 150 units per annum.  David Wilson Homes Limited sees the purchase providing an excellent geographic fit, complementing David Wilson Homes existing regional presence.

 

Kenmore Homes Group acquires AB Hamilton Limited in £6 million deal (March 2006)

Kenmore Homes Limited, set up in Edinburgh in 2001, has announced the acquisition of the Glasgow based-residential development and house building business of Hamilton Holdings, incorporating Hamilton Homes and AB Hamilton Limited, in a £6 million deal.  The acquisition is supported with a structured and project funding package of £25.8 million from Bank of Scotland Corporate.

 

The integration of the acquisition will provide Kenmore Homes Limited with a Glasgow base from where the companies own brand direct developments in Scotland will be centred and is expected to increase profits by over £1 million in the current financial year.

 

Galliford Try PLC to buy Morrison Construction Division (March 2006)

Galliford Try PLC has announced that it has agreed to buy Morrison Construction Division for £42 million from owners AWG.

 

Galliford Try PLC buys Chartdale Homes for £67 million (January 2006)

Galliford Try PLC has bought Lincolnshire-based house builder Chartdale Homes Limited for £67 million in cash. 

 

Last year, Chartdale Homes Limited generated a turnover of £26.3 million and a profit of £14 million from the sale of 143 units at an average selling price of £183,900.  It had £15.2 million in cash.

 

Chartdale Homes Limited was formed in order to acquire Alfred McAlpine's house building operations in Lincolnshire in 1986 by a management buy-out team.  Chartdale Homes Limited’s founder, Mr Geoff Dyson, has agreed to stay with the business during the transition.

 

Mr Ian Baker, Managing Director of Stamford Homes, will be responsible for integrating the Chartdale business.  Mr Ian Baker successfully oversaw the integration of Gerald Wood Homes following its acquisition by Galliford Try in 2001.  Galliford Try PLC will retain Chartdale Homes’ head office in Grimsby and will operate the business with the existing employees.

 

Persimmon PLC buys Senator Homes Limited (December 2005)

Persimmon PLC announced on 15th December 2005, the acquisition of Senator Homes Limited for a total consideration of £25 million.  Senator Homes’ Carlisle office will close in 2006, with the business being absorbed into Persimmon Lancashire.

 

Persimmon PLC buys Westbury Homes (November 2005)

Persimmon PLC buys Westbury Homes for £643 million, replacing Barratt Developments as the largest house builder in Britain.  The deal will put it on track to complete about 16,700 houses across the country in 2006.  Persimmon PLC is set to close up to eight offices around the country following the deal.

 

Miller Homes Limited buys Fairclough Homes (September 2005)

Scottish construction group, Miller Homes Limited bought Fairclough Homes from its US owner Centex for £264 million.  The acquisition makes Miller Homes Limited the seventh biggest house builder in the UK by volume, with an output of more than 4,000 units a year.

 

The Firm said the rationale behind the acquisition was to increase earnings and to gain a more significant presence in the Northwest, Yorkshire, the West Midlands and the South.

 

The deal has provided Miller Homes Limited with a base in St Albans from which it can enter the northern Home Counties, a market it had not expected to enter before 2006.