Avant Homes sees bid for rival rejected

A Chesterfield-headquartered housebuilder has put forward a bid for listed rival Crest Nicholson.

Avant Homes, which is one of the East Midlands’ most active housebuilders, tabled an offer to buy the entirety of Crest last month, according to Sky News.

The offer has been rejected by Crest’s board over the last week-and-a-half, say the reports.

Crest has recently had to bat off interest from listed rival Bellway, which valued the firm at around £665m.

Avant is rarely out of the news in the East Midlands. Since the beginning of March, it has spent £90m on land at Clowes Developments’ Pleasley Hill scheme, submitted plans for a £20m multi-tenure development, including 82 new homes in the village of Burbage, near Hinckley, and  strengthened its senior management team by appointing a land director.

Shares in Crest Nicholson closed at 250p on Friday (July 5), which valued the firm at just over £642m.