Pizza Express boss 'in bid for housebuilder'

Mr Osmond's Horizon acquisition vehicle is said to have a hit list of companies that have been crippled by debts amid the economic slump.

Horizon is flush with cash after raising more than 400m in a stock market listing earlier this year. It tabled its proposal at a meeting of Crest's 40 banks last week.

The developer's main lender is Lloyds Banking Group, which took control of Crest last year through a debt-for-equity swap.

It is understood that Horizon wants a commitment from the banks that they will consider selling other property firms and land portfolios that have come under their control.

Crest builds around 2,000 homes a year. It was previously owned through a joint venture between HBOS and Sir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur.

The consortium bought the firm for 1.2bn in 2007 – close to the peak of the housing market – in a deal that was paid for almost entirely through debt financing.

Lloyds, which acquired HBOS in September 2008, later wrote off 630m of Crest's debt in return for a 90 per cent stake in the company.

Mr Osmond said at the time of Horizon's City fundraising in February: "Today there are fundamentally good companies which have fundamentally poor capital structures, because of the weight of their debt.

"For them, refinancings are expensive elastoplast. The need is to restructure their balance sheets and support management and investment for growth. This need is urgent, and it is Horizon's aim to undertake just this with the business we acquire."