Mon 2 Jun 2008
Council builder to sell stake in business
Council estate builder United House is geared up to selling a stake in its business in a move which may yield a multi-million payout for owners Geoffrey Granter and Jeffrey Adams.The Kent-based firm has asked KPMG’s corporate finance division to look at strategic options for the group; it has no plans to sell out to a competitor, but may consider a buyout deal from a private equity firm. The company is set to make pre-tax profits of £25m in 2008, and could be worth between £150m and £300m, according to banking sources.
United House was initially founded by Granter in 1964 as Harp Heating, which focused on installing heating at local authority homes, but expanded into construction, renovation and refurbishment of council housing stock in 1981 when Adams joined the firm. The company profited from Gordon Brown’s housebuilding plans in the 1990s in winning contracts to work on Private Finance Initiatives. It also has a division that builds new homes and flats for public and private sale.
Rumours of a deal follow market moves to buy up several social housing contractors by financial sponsors. In 2007, HBOS mounted a £410m management buyout of Apollo, and a £783m takeover of Keepmoat.
Posted by Marc Da-Silva
in Geoffrey Granter, Gordon Brown, HBOS, Jeffrey Adams, KPMG, News, United House on Mon 2 Jun 2008
Have your say and comment on this article