Housebuilder Cala revealed to be in sale talks

Cala chief executive Alan Brown

Source: Tom Campbell

Cala chief executive Alan Brown

Chinese residential property developer Evergrande Group is in talks to buy British house builder Cala Group.

The talks, which could result in a £700m deal, have been described as serious and credible by Sky News.

Since 2013 Cala has been owned by Legal & General and property investor Patron Capital.

Last month the housebuilder reported a 15% increase in its full year revenue to £587m, up from £512m the previous year.

The housebuilder also reported an 18% increase in pre-tax profit to £60m , up from £51m.

A spokesperson for Cala said: “Thanks to the quality of our brand and strong financial and trading performance, from time to time we may find ourselves the subject of speculation but from our perspective it is very much business as usual.”

The news comes after the latest push by the government to get more housing built with the establishment of the £2bn Accelerated Construction scheme - which will see public land with planning permission made available to builders more quickly - and the £3bn home building fund.