Taylor Wimpey sells North American unit for $955 million

Published 31st Mar 2011

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has sold its North American business to a group of private equity firms for $955 million (592 million pounds), in a long-awaited deal that will help it cut debt and focus on its UK business.

"The sale is a significant step towards our goal of becoming a UK-focussed homebuilder," Chief Executive Pete Redfern said on Thursday.

"The sale will provide us with a strengthened balance sheet and increased financial capacity to invest in the UK and to pursue our strategic aims of focussing on margin growth."

Shares in the company, which have risen 45 percent in the last six months, gained 2.7 percent to 42.4 pence by 9:10 a.m.

"We believe this deal will be taken well -- post completion, the group is predominantly a UK-focussed housebuilder with a strengthened balance sheet," said Arbuthnot analyst Kate Moy, noting the company retains underperforming assets in Spain.

Taylor Wimpey enjoyed a good start to the spring house-selling season, Redfern told reporters in a conference call, and could use some of the sale proceeds to add to its portfolio of land.

"Our prices are a little bit higher than they were three months ago," he said.

"Given the economic uncertainty that's around, we're pretty pleased with the way the UK market has performed in the first quarter of this year."

Source: ' Reuters '

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