Leicester housebuilder sold for £135.4m

Leicester homebuilder Westleigh has been sold to counterpart Countryside Properties in a deal worth up to £135.4m.

Westleigh built 1,159 homes last year in partnership with local authorities and housing associations of which 92 per cent were affordable. Revenue was £150.6m, operating profit was £15.6m.

The business was founded in 1985 by the current chairman, Chris Beighton, who will step down from his role on completion of the deal. Westleigh’s management team and 456 staff will be retained by Countryside.

Countryside was founded in 1958. It operates in locations across outer London, the South East, the North West of England and the West Midlands.

The deal marks an exit for private equity investor Palatine.

Chris Beighton, chairman at Westleigh, said: “Westleigh’s experience having Palatine as our investor partner has been nothing other than positive. Palatine have supported managements ambitious expansion plans for growth. While always remaining diligent, Palatine have allowed management to run the business and progress matters without clunky time consuming approval processes that would have removed the business’s ability to be reactive to opportunities which give it the edge over its competitors. I would on behalf of the board and the business like to thank Palatine for their support”.
Richard Thomas, head of Midlands at Palatine Private Equity and former board director at Westleigh, said: “It’s been a pleasure working with the team at Westleigh and we wish them every success as they start a new chapter in Westleigh’s development. Westleigh has been a great example of private equity backing an excellent and ambitious management team, working together to not only grow the business quickly but also improve it on all fronts. We are confident that the business will continue to thrive under Countryside’s ownership.”

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.”

Clearwater International UK advised Westleigh on the deal.

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