the management team bidding for Beazer's social housing division and its two prefabrication factories is still favourite to buy them, despite 20 other groups showing an interest.
The buyout offer has been on the table since February but Persimmon, which took over Beazer earlier this year, confirmed that a memorandum of sale had been sent out last week to about 20 trade buyers and venture capitalists.

A source close to the management team said John White, Persimmon's chief executive, had promised the team that it would be shortlisted.

The source added: "We're still very much in there.

We're confident."

The management buyout, first revealed in Building a month ago, is being led by John Cadwallader, managing director of social housing arm Beazer Partnerships.

Up for sale is Beazer Partnerships and Torwood, which owns prefabrication factories in Ipswich and Livingston, Scotland.

Countryside Properties said this week that it would look at Beazer Partnerships but not the factories.

The buyout would suit Persimmon because it would take the businesses off its hands immediately

Industry source

A Persimmon spokesperson said no timescale had been set for the sale, which is being handled by KPMG, but it is expected to be finalised next month.

Beazer had invested heavily in prefabrication, but Persimmon does not consider it, or social housing, to be its core business.

An industry source said the buyout would suit Persimmon because it would take the businesses off its hands immediately.

However, the source added that Persimmon was obviously testing the market to see if it would get the best price by selling the businesses separately or in a bundle.

The sale would see the two factories, three offices and about 250 staff hived off. The buyer would also inherit Beazer Partnerships' contract to supply Amphion, a consortium of housing associations, with 2000 houses.

It has completed about 350 of these.