Taylor Wimpey to exit North America

UK-based house builder Taylor Wimpey has agreed to sell its North American business to investment fund TMM Holdings for US$ 955 million. The company says the disposal will see it focus on its home market, while proceeds will be used to pay down debt and reduce its pension deficit.

Taylor Wimpey group chief executive, Peter Redfern said, "We are delighted to announce the sale of our North American business, which is a significant step towards our goal of becoming a UK-focused home builder. The sale will provide us with a strengthened balance sheet and increased financial capacity to invest in the UK and to pursue our strategic aims of focusing on margin growth."

He added that the business had been sold following a competitive process, and that the sale price of US$ 955 million represented a 3.4% premium on the company's net asset value of US$ 923 million as of December 31 2010.

Taylor Wimpey says its North American business is the ninth largest house builder in the US by revenues, with its main markets in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, in the US, along with Ontario, Canada.

It operates in the US as Taylor Morrison and in Canada as Monarch Homes, with regional headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, US. Last year the business completed 2570 homes in the US at an average selling price of US$ 274000 - a total of US$ 704 million.