Bovis Homes completes £1.1bn Galliford Try acquisition
UK housebuilder Bovis Homes this morning announced it has completed the £1.1bn purchase of two Galliford Try businesses, in a deal which could reshape the UK housing market.
The agreement to buy Linden Homes, as well as Galliford Try’s own partnerships and regeneration business will create a top five housebuilder with the ability to provide 12,000 homes a year.
Read more: Bovis Homes agrees £1.1bn deal for Galliford Try housing business
As part of the integration, Bovis also announced that it had applied to change its name to Vistry Group.
The new name will be used for both the group’s housebuilding and partnerships businesses.
The group also announced that Graham Prothero, Galliford Try’s chief executive, would become the chief operating officer of the new entity.
Bovis Homes chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said that the move gives the firm a leading position in the high-growth, more resilient partnerships market:
“Within the enlarged business, our commitment to ensuring the highest levels of build quality and customer satisfaction will remain central to everything we do,” he added.
David Madden, markets analyst at CMC Markets, said that the move was part of Galliford Try’s restructuring.
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He said that the move will allow it to focus on its core business, whilst the cash raised can be used to beef up its balance sheet.
He added: “Bovis Homes was one of the best performers in its sector in terms of share price growth last year, and now the company is expanding its business, so it should be able to benefit from economies of scale.”