Keepmoat plc, the UK's leading regeneration and affordable homes specialist, has undergone a £783 million management buyout funded by an integrated debt and equity package from Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance. The management buyout will help Keepmoat continue its sustained growth and meet new market challenges.
Keepmoat, which works with hundreds of communities across the Midlands and North of England, plays a major role in the Government's agenda of delivering sustainable communities through its Homes and Regeneration divisions.
The buy-out sees Bank of Scotland become a minority shareholder of Keepmoat, alongside the management team, which is led by Chief Executive David Blunt. The transaction delivers an exit for both Terry Bramall and Dick Watson, who have been the principal shareholders of Keepmoat for over 35 years, during which time the business has grown considerably to in excess of £535 million of turnover and an order book of £3 billion.
Keepmoat has pioneered long term partnerships with the public sector, which now represent over eighty per cent of the Group's turnover. The Group employs over 3,000 people and has delivered or improved more than 34,000 homes in the last twelve months. This equates to one home being handed over every three minutes.
The detailed plans for Gorton Monastery Village in Gorton, East Manchester, were approved by Manchester City Council, giving the go-ahead for work to start on site. The scheme will comprise of 69 two and three storey family houses on a 1.9 hectare site next to Gorton Monastery, just three miles east of Manchester City Centre.
Housebuilder, Gleeson, along with their architects Taylor Young, designed eight unique house types specifically for the scheme. These offer a range of sizes and layouts from two to four bedrooms. This includes 19 detached, 34 semi-detached and 16 terraced houses. All houses will benefit from a private garden and an allocated parking space. A tree lined boulevard will run through the centre of the scheme and an area of public open space has been incorporated into the scheme to create a family orientated feel.
The housing development, which is believed to be the first in the UK to use aspects of sacred geometry as a basis for its master plan, sits next to the historic Pugin designed grade II Gorton monastery and is designed to achieve an 'excellent' eco homes rating giving the homes very high insulation standards, energy saving appliances, off-street parking and cycle and bin storage.
The scheme is also designed to meet national regeneration agency English Partnerships Lifetime Homes standards.
The Urban Regeneration company New East Manchester Ltd. has the role of implementing the regeneration framework, securing the required public and private funding, leading on specific major development projects and co-ordinating the range of regeneration and renewal initiatives in the area.
Lovell was set to build a £36 million mixed tenure housing development in Islington, North London.
Lovell will be working with Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) to deliver the scheme at Mildmay Avenue.
Lovell will build 91 flats for open market sale, including studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, as well as 31 flats for affordable rent and 14 flats for New Build HomeBuy shared ownership through the Association.
The new housing development will replace a number of light industrial units on the site, most of which have been empty for some time. Work on the 21-month scheme is set to start later this year, with the first new homes expected to be completed in early 2009.
Lovell was also selected by Fairlake Properties as its development partner for a major £3.3 million regeneration scheme in the Ringland area of Newport, South Wales. Lovell will build 34 homes for rent, affordable home ownership and open market sale.
The development will comprise 27 two-, three- and four-bedroom houses and seven two-bedroom bungalows. Twenty-four of the new homes will be available for rent and affordable home ownership through the Newport City Living scheme administered by Fairlake.
Ten homes will be offered for open market sale by Lovell.
The new housing is due to be completed in June 2008. The development is the first phase of a two-phase project being led by Fairlake Properties as part of the ongoing regeneration of the Ringland estate.
Lovell recently finished a £40 million regeneration project in Newport for Newport Housing Trust, demolishing old prefabs on five estates across the city and re-housing residents in 517 new bungalows. Fairlake acted as development partners for Newport Housing Trust.