£330m deal for Yorkshire developer

Housebuilder Keepmoat has sold the majority of its business to ENGIE for £330m.

It has hived off the regeneration arm, which employs 2,500 people, to the energy and services provider.

The Keepmoat regeneration business specialises in the design, build and refurbishment of buildings and places.

Keepmoat chief executive Dave Sheridan, who will also join ENGIE, said: “The regeneration business has exciting prospects as part of ENGIE. It is very clear that ENGIE shares our belief that by working in partnership with local authorities and registered providers we can help cities and communities improve the places where people live.”

In the UK, ENGIE employs 17,000 people and is a major provider of property services and energy management, including district heating, to local authorities and businesses.

“By combining our energy expertise with an expanded services capability we can make a bigger impact as we help to improve lives of the communities we serve,” said ENGIE’s UK chief executive Wilfrid Petrie.

“Today, buildings account for 30% of UK carbon emissions and our investment in Keepmoat’s regeneration business underlines our long-term commitment to the UK as it transitions to a lower carbon economy.

“This transaction will also support our growth ambitions for decentralised energy networks and our home energy business as the regeneration activities will bring us closer to the end customer.”

Keepmoat Homes’ owners TDR and Sun Capital, which bought the group in 2014, have said they will continue the growth strategy in place for the business.

The Doncaster-based housebuilder, which employs more than 600 people, works with local authorities, registered providers and public sector land owners throughout the UK. It has doubled in size in the last three years and has a target to build more than 3,500 homes in its 2018 financial year.

Peter Hindley, who will continue to lead Keepmoat Homes, insisted the business “will keep growing strongly”.

He said: “Keepmoat has grown significantly by serving the huge demand for quality new homes that are well designed and offered at prices people can afford. We have the investment and sites to build more homes than ever before, and help yet more people secure a place of their own.”

Completion of the transaction is conditional on anti-trust clearance and is expected to take place in a few months.

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