Countryside Properties

Countryside Properties acquires housebuilder



Countryside Properties PLC has announced the acquisition of Westleigh Group Limited for a total cash consideration of up to £135.4m.


The UK housebuilder and regeneration partner has made the acquisition to increase the scale of its partnerships division and support its growth as well as broaden its geographical reach.

Westleigh is headquartered in Leicester and covers the Midlands and South Yorkshire regions, two areas which Countryside believes have strong underlying housing demand.

In the year ended 31st March 2018, Westleigh delivered 1,159 new homes, of which 92% were affordable.

It has a land bank of 4,981 plots and an overall new business pipeline of 13,000 plots.

As of 31st March 2018, on an unaudited basis, the company reported revenue of £150.6m, an operating profit of £15.6m and gross assets of £76.1m.

Westleigh Group’s chairman Chris Beighton founded the company in 1985 and will step down from his role on the completion of the acquisition.

The company workforce of 456 employees will be retained to continue the growth of the business.

Ian Sutcliffe, chief executive of Countryside, said: "Westleigh is a well-run business with a strong strategic, geographic and cultural fit to Countryside and provides us with an excellent platform for further partnerships growth.

“We see huge opportunity in combining Westleigh's regional expertise with the Countryside mixed-tenure business model."



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