Vistry completes Countryside takeover

Vistry Group has completed its £1.25bn takeover of Countryside Partnerships.

Vistry Group chief executive Greg Fitzgerald The deal completed on Friday 11th November following shareholder approval.

Vistry said that the deal would prove transformational for its business, giving it greater exposure to the market for building affordable homes in partnership with Homes England, housing associations and local authorities.

Vistry already has a presence in this market, through Vistry Partnerships (formerly Linden), acquired from Galliford Try in January 2020. This business is now being merged with, and rebranded as, Countryside Partnerships. The new Countryside Partnerships will be headed by Stephen Teagle, currently chief executive of Vistry Partnerships.

The acquisition adds more than £1bn of revenue to Linden Partnership’s 2021 revenue of £864m. Vistry expects partnership revenue to grow to more than £3bn a year in the medium term. It said that a stronger presence in this market would provide a hedge to any downturn in the private house-building market. The partnerships sector now makes up 45% of Vistry Group revenues, and this is expected to increase to more than 50% in the short term.

When it announced the deal on 5th September, Vistry made it clear that if the market had not recognised the group’s full value by 2025 – if it felt that the acquisition had not worked out – the private house-building and the public sector partnerships business would both be large enough to split apart and become independent businesses.

Vistry Group chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said: “This is an historic day for our business,” said. “By combining Countryside with our already flourishing Partnerships division we create a leading capability across all housing tenures at a time when the need for affordable housing has never been keener.

“Meanwhile our Housebuilding division continues to deliver an outstanding performance building Bovis and Linden Homes for the private market, with an absolute focus on delivery and service which has seen us once again ranked as a top-rated five-star builder by our customers.

“With our resilient business model of sustainable private and affordable delivery, we stand ready to build thousands of new homes, which is obviously great news for home hunters but also for our clients, contractors and local communities, where we will be bringing a much-needed economic boost.

“In developing this unique, enlarged group we are bringing together the very best of both businesses. We will integrate the two groups quickly, and in line with our values of integrity, caring and quality, bringing together our talented people to power us to further success.”

Stephen Teagle said: “This combination of the two Partnerships businesses is a unique opportunity to work at scale with our clients and partners to increase the supply and quality of new homes across a range of tenures.

“Countryside has a fantastic legacy of delivering high quality regeneration schemes which perfectly aligns with Vistry’s long-term partnering with clients and commitment to sustainable new communities.

“The quality of our people and our shared commitment and values will enable us to achieve even more and working with partners, demonstrate how vital housing is to the success of our economy and the prosperity of our communities.”