Countryside strikes £135m deal for housebuilder Westleigh

Housebuilder Countryside Properties has splashed out £135.4 million on its first major deal since returning to public markets two years ago, snapping up regional builder Westleigh.

Countryside is aiming to bolster the reach of its partnerships business, which works with local authorities and housing associations to deliver affordable homes.

The takeover will also net a £27 million windfall for Chris Beighton, who founded Westleigh back in 1985 and will step down as chairman on completion of the deal.

Last year the business built 1,159 mainly affordable homes across the Midlands and South Yorkshire and has a land bank of nearly 5,000 plots.

Countryside chief executive Ian Sutcliffe called Westleigh a “well-run business with a strong strategic, geographic and cultural fit”, helping balance the business between affordable homes and private sales.

Beighton aside, the remaining senior management — with a stake of about 5% — are locked into the business for the next two years.

Shares rose 8p to 346p, as Numis analyst Chris Millington said: “In our view this looks like a good deal and means the partnership business is now close to 4,000 units and generating £750 million of revenue — we estimate partnerships will now represent over 50% of Countryside’s profit profile.”