The house builder delivered 1,677 homes in 2017, with 21% of units affordable homes
Legal & General Capital (LGC), the investment arm of Legal & General Group, has acquired the 52.1% of CALA Homes which it did not previously own.
Prior to the acquisition, the housing provider had been jointly owned with Patron Capital Partners since LGC acquired half of the company in March 2013.
A statement from L&G says the business has “performed strongly” under the joint ownership with Patron, revealing revenues grew threefold from £241m in 2013 to £748m in 2017.
Kerrigan Procter, chief executive officer of L&G Capital, said: “Legal & General is delighted to assume full ownership of CALA Homes, a growing business which we know and understand well.
“It has a strong management team with proven experience of managing a house building business across business cycles, and has delivered great returns for shareholders since its acquisition in 2013, having tripled in revenue during this time. I am excited to be working with the team as CALA Homes continues to develop and grow under our continued ownership.
“Legal & General has valued the contributions of Patron over the past years and is pleased to have successfully grown the business together.”
The total equity in CALA Homes has been valued at £605m. L&G paid £315m plus additional costs to acquire the 52.1% share it didn’t already own.
Alan Brown, chief executive of CALA Homes, commented: “[The] investment by Legal & General marks the start of another exciting new chapter for CALA Homes and is a fantastic endorsement of our growth potential from one of the UK’s most highly-respected, blue-chip investors who shares our long-term vision.
“Over the past five years we have become one of the UK’s fastest growing house builders and this is testament to the strength and ambition of our team, the quality of our homes and our approach to customer service.”
Keith Breslauer, managing director of Patron Capital, added: “With the combined resources of Patron and Legal & General, we have worked successfully with the management team to support the growth of the business and consolidate CALA Homes’ position in the market.
“Over the last five years CALA Homes has expanded significantly, growing twofold the annual volume of homes sold and fourfold the operating profits, delivering on the business plan set out at the time of Patron and Legal & General’s acquisition.
“Patron wishes to thank the CALA management for delivering on the plan and Legal & General for its support of the investment; we are confident that the business will continue to grow and thrive under Legal & General’s ownership. Patron remains committed to the UK residential sector with our extensive investment activities in this area.”
CALA Homes is a UK housing provider. It delivered 1,677 total completions in 2017, made up of 1,322 private homes and 355 units affordable homes.