Henry Boot to take full control of Stonebridge Homes

The London-listed group said it would take full ownership of the regional housebuilder after agreeing to acquire the 50% it does not already own from its joint venture partner.

It will take full control of the business, which builds premium homes in Yorkshire and the north east, in three tranches over the next five years, with anticipated fixed payments totalling £30m.

The first tranche of 12.5% is for a fixed price of £10m and will complete next month. The last two purchase prices will be linked to the performance of Stonebridge over the five-year period, however.

Founded in 2010, Stonebridge built 251 homes in 2023. It posted operating profits of £5.9m on revenues of £94.4m, and has a medium-term target to build 600 new homes annually.

Tim Roberts, chief executive of Henry Boot, called the deal an "important strategic milestone".

He continued: "The acquisition further cements our position in the UK housebuilding sector, a market which currently benefits from a number of supportive structural and political tailwinds, while at the same time simplifies Henry Boot’s structure.

"The consideration is performance linked, and the phased structure is designed to generate strong returns while maintaining gearing within our optimum range of 10% to 20%.

"All this gives us confidence that this transaction will help drive enhanced shareholder value over the medium term and will be a significant part of our plans for growth."

Stonebridge is jointly owned by Henry Boot and Stonebridge Projects, which in turn is owned by Darren Stubbs, chief executive of Stonebridge.

Shares in 138-year Henry Boot, which listed in 1919, were largely unchanged as at 0845 GMT, at 233.88p.