Bovis Homes becomes Vistry Group following £1.1bn housing deal

January 3, 2020 / Isla MacFarlane
Bovis Homes becomes Vistry Group following £1.1bn housing deal

Bovis Homes has completed its acquisition of Galliford Try’s housing arm and become one of the UK’s largest housebuilders. The deal, which has inflated Bovis to twice its original size, has also resulted in a name change for the new housing juggernaut.

Greg Fitzgerald, CEO of Bovis Homes, said: “The combination of these businesses with Bovis Homes creates a top five housebuilder in the UK with the capacity to deliver over 12,000 homes per year in the medium term. It also gives us a leading position in the high-growth, more resilient partnerships market.

Graham Prothero, who was the Chief Executive Officer of Galliford Try, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Company.

The name change was announced back in November, as the company was seeking a new corporate identity following the acquisition. Today, the new plumped-up Bovis will make an application to the Registrar of Companies to change its name to Vistry Group. Both the enlarged group’s housebuilding and partnerships businesses will answer to the new name.

The enlarged housebuilding business will operate with both the Bovis Homes and Linden Homes brands, in an effort to maximise the opportunities from dual-branding.

Bovis’ shares were down over 4% this morning. The 5,665,723 ordinary shares of £0.50 each to be issued to shareholders are now trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities, as of 8am this morning.

Bill Hocking formally took up his role as Chief Executive of Galliford Try today (3 January 2020). Peter Ventress, Chairman, said: “Bill was appointed to the Executive Board as Managing Director of Construction on 1 September 2015 and has led the Construction & Investments Division, of Galliford Try Plc, as Chief Executive since 1 August 2016.  On behalf of the Board I congratulate Bill on his appointment as Chief Executive of Galliford Try.”

Bill Hocking added: “I am excited by my appointment and the opportunity to lead our UK construction-focused group which is strongly positioned for future growth.  I am particularly looking forward to working with the Group’s highly experienced senior management team focusing on optimising the operational performance of the business.”

Bovis had been bidding for Galliford Try’s housebuilding business for many months before it was announced that a deal had been struck. Talks seemed to hit a wall in May this year, before being revived in September. The acquisition was announced in November.

Did you like this? Share it: