Chairman and managing director spearhead £300m bid to take north London housebuilder private.
Managers at housebuilder and developer Fairview Holdings have launched a bid to buy the company and take it private. It is understood that the team of senior executives, including chairman Dennis Cope and managing director Stephen Casey, has put together a deal worth more than £300m to buy the north London-based company.

Fairview recorded a pre-tax profit of £58m last year on a turnover of almost £200m. Its current market value is about £270m.

In an official statement, Fairview said it had received an approach from a financial institution that was “considering financing” an offer led by the executive team. Fairview refused to name the financial backer, but sources close to the housebuilder said it was not one of the company’s shareholders. Casey declined to comment.

The news sent Fairview’s share price soaring by a third, from 120p to 160p on Thursday last week. On Friday, it closed at 157p.

The managers’ move, prompted by the City’s under-valuation of the housebuilding sector, has led some analysts to speculate that other companies will follow suit unless market sentiment improves.

Seymour Pierce analyst Leslie Kent said: “Unless the market starts paying attention to housebuilders, many more will exit the market or lose their independence. Many have left already because construction is not properly recognised by the City. We’ve got to get sex appeal into these companies before it’s too late.”

The news of the proposed buyout immediately led to speculation that Berkeley Group chief Tony Pidgley is about to approach the Fairview board with a bid of his own.

However, Pidgley told Building that he had no intention of bidding. He said: “Fairview is a good company and it achieves good margins. But I am not interested in acquiring it and I’m not in talks with it.”

However, industry sources said that Fairview, whose landbank is located entirely in the South-east, could attract other volume housebuilders or an overseas buyer wishing to gain a foothold in the UK market.

One said: “It’s a well-run company and has a very marketable landbank. Whoever does buy it, could end up paying something akin to £350m.”

However, another housebuilder said: “Fairview is a good company because it has very good people in senior positions. If someone moves in to buy the company, most of the management team involved in the buyout would leave and then the buyer would be left with nothing. It wouldn’t be the same company.”