Taylor Wimpey considering offers for its US division

Taylor confirmed it has received takeover approaches for its US business and it is in the early stages of considering offers for its North American subsidiary, called Taylor Morrison.

The group wants to concentrate on its domestic UK market, where it trades as Bryant Homes, Laing Homes and George Wimpey.

Taylor has 20 sites in Yorkshire covering Sheffield, Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Castleford, York, Thirsk, Selby and Leeds and is due to open new sites in Bradford, Normanby, Upper Haugh near Rotherham and Crigglestone near Wakefield.

Taylor said UK selling prices remained stable throughout the second half of 2010, leaving the average achieved across the year at 171,000 –up seven per cent on 2009.

But the number of completions fell by two per cent and the group said constrained mortgage lending would continue to hold back the property market in 2011.

Taylor said the recent performance in the US division is expected to help pre-tax profits beat market forecasts, its second upgrade in as many months.

The group, which builds houses in the UK, US and Spain and Gibraltar, has also driven more cost savings than it expected.

In the UK, it slashed build costs by 10 per cent in the first half of the year and is now expecting to beat targets for 2011 after driving further savings in the second half.

In 2010, Taylor Wimpey Yorkshire opened two new developments, Fairview Green in Pudsey and Crest Park in Bradford, offering two-bedroom apartments and two, three and four-bedroom homes.

Taylor's US and Canadian business reported greater stability as the impact of the removal of buyer tax incentives starts to ease, with prices up seven per cent in 2010 despite remaining broadly flat in the second half.

However, Spain remains a difficult market after the financial crisis hit the country hard.

Taylor is reviewing its strategy for the business and expects to "take a more aggressive approach to driving sales rates", which it warned may lead to further write-downs.

The group said: "In the UK, constrained mortgage lending and the continuing uncertainty in the wider economic environment remain the greatest restriction on the market and we continue to run the business cautiously."

It added: "In the US, affordability remains at excellent levels and, combined with gradually reducing foreclosure levels, provides the potential for a strong recovery as confidence returns."