The biggest housebuilder in the US has completed its first European takeover.
Centex, capitalised at $2.4bn, has paid £108.9m to acquire Fairclough Homes Group from construction group Amec. The price represents 120% of Fairclough’s net asset value.
Fairclough is a regional housebuilder operating in the North West, Midlands and South East. During 1998, it sold 1,717 homes, with an average selling price of £100,000. The company controls 3,762 plots. Last year, Fairclough posted pretax profits of around £25m.
Stewart Baseley, former director of the Beazer Group, is in charge of Centex’s UK outpost. He said: “This is a unique opportunity for Centex to enter the UK housing business. Fairclough Homes will also provide a foundation for our long-term objective to become a major force in the European housing industry.”
He added that the quoted corporation’s five-year plan was to expand into Holland, Spain, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic.
