Countryside buys South Yorkshire builder

Westleigh is a​n established partnerships ho​usebuilder, covering the​ ​Midlands and South Yorkshire.​

​In ​the year to March 31, it delivered 1,159 homes in​ ​partnership with local authorities and housing associations of which 92 per cent were affordable.

​It has a ​land bank of 4,981 plots and ​an ​overall new business pipeline of 13,000 plots​.

The business was founded in 1985 by the current ​c​hairman, Chris Beighton, who will step down from​ ​his role on completion. The management team and the company workforce of 456 will be​ ​retained to continue the growth of the business.

The acquisition of Westleigh is in line with Countryside’s strategy to expand its Partnerships​ ​business. ​Countryside said ​Westleigh ​will ​broaden ​its​ geographical reach into​ ​regions that have strong underlying demand.

​Ian Sutcliffe, ​c​hief ​e​xecutive 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."

Countryside​ said​ the enhanced buying power from being part of a larger group will improve​ ​underlying returns in the Westleigh business.