 | |
| Industry | Housebuilding |
|---|---|
| Successor | Barratt Developments |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Defunct | 2007 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Headquarters | Coalville, England |
Key people | David Wilson (Chairman) |
Wilson Bowden plc was a British housebuilding and general construction company headquartered in Coalville in central England.
Wilson Bowden was the holding company for David Wilson Homes and its commercial property subsidiary, Wilson Bowden Properties, the name being adopted at the time of the group's flotation in 1987. [1] David Wilson joined his father’s joinery workshop in 1960 and during that decade gradually moved the business into housebuilding. By the early 1970s, AH Wilson (as it was then named) was building around 150 houses a year in the Leicestershire area. A joint property investment with First National Finance Corporation, Bowden Park Holdings, was wholly acquired in 1973 when First National got into financial difficulty. [2]
David Wilson expanded substantially in the 1980s with sales rising from 300 to 1,600 in the decade, while group profits increased from £2 million to £40 million. As a result of conservative land buying policies, Wilson Bowden survived the recession of the early 1990s better than most of its competitors. Wilson then began to move out from its East Midlands heartland. New offices were opened in the West Midlands, Hereford, Hertfordshire and Kent in 1992; Leeds in 1993; Cheshire in 1997 and Glasgow in 1999. Wilson also made some strategic acquisitions including the Berkshire firm of Trencherwood in 1996, which had a dominant position in the West Berkshire land market, and the old-established housing business of Henry Boot plc in 2003. By then, Wilson was building over 4,000 units a year and was regarded as one of the most consistently successful of the quoted housebuilders. [2]
David Wilson had run the business for forty years and experiments were made to ensure a controlled succession. However, in April 2007, just ahead of the next housing recession, the company was sold to Barratt Developments for £2.2 billion. [3]
The company had three divisions:
Barratt Developments plc is one of the largest residential property development companies in the United Kingdom operating across England, Wales and Scotland. It was founded in 1958 as Greensitt Bros. but control was later assumed by Sir Lawrie Barratt. It was originally based in Newcastle upon Tyne but is now located at David Wilson's former offices in Coalville. It has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1968 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Bellway plc is a residential property developer and housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Vistry Group plc is a British house-building company based in Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent. Formerly Bovis Homes Group plc, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. During the late 2010s, the quality of Bovis's housing was subject to customer complaints and threats of legal action. In January 2020, the group was renamed Vistry following the acquisition of housing businesses from Galliford Try, but was set to retain the Bovis Homes brand and the former Galliford Try brand, Linden Homes.
Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Chertsey, Surrey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Westbury plc was an English housebuilding company based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index but was acquired by Persimmon plc in 2005.
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until its merger with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.
Bryant Homes was one of the larger UK housebuilders when it was acquired by Taylor Woodrow in 2001; Bryant then became the principal housebuilding operation of the enlarged group. Taylor Woodrow merged with Wimpey in 2007 and during 2010 the Bryant brand was phased out. The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1962.
Redrow plc is one of the largest British housebuilders with a network of 14 operational divisions across the UK. It is based in Flintshire and employs 2,300 people. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is currently a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Lend Lease Residential Development is the British residential development division of the Australia-based global property developer Lend Lease.
Taylor Wimpey plc is one of the largest British based housebuilding companies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Its operational headquarters in the United Kingdom are in High Wycombe.
Morgan Sindall Group plc is a leading British Construction & Regeneration group, headquartered in London employing around 6,700 employees and operating in the public, regulated and private sectors. It reports through six divisions of Construction & Infrastructure, Fit Out, Property Services, Partnership Housing, Urban Regeneration and Investments. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Countryside Properties is a UK housebuilding and urban regeneration company, operating in London and the South East of England, and with a presence in the North West of England through its Partnerships division. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Broseley Estates Limited, also referred to as Broseley Homes, was a housebuilder based in Leigh, Lancashire which operated from the 1950s until the 1980s.
McLean Homes was a major British housebuilding business.
Miller Homes is a housebuilder based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1934, as part of the previous Miller Group. Its corporate headquarters is in Edinburgh. Since its inception, Miller Homes has built over 100,000 homes.
Henry Boot PLC is a British construction and property development business, listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1919, becoming the first ever quoted housebuilder. Between the wars, Henry Boot built more houses than any other company.
Beazer was a family business for six generations before expanding in the 1980s into international housebuilding, construction and building materials group. After becoming overburdened with debt it was rescued by Hanson plc in 1991. A new Beazer Group, comprising solely the UK housebuilding business, was demerged from Hanson in 1994, and bought by Persimmon plc in 2001.
Ideal Homes was a British housebuilder.
Greg Fitzgerald is a British business executive. He has been chief executive officer of Bovis Homes since April 2017. Fitzgerald held the same position at Galliford Try from 2005 to 2015.
Charles Church Developments Ltd is a British upmarket housebuilding company which is headquartered in York, England. The company is named after its co-founder Charles JG Church who established the business in 1965. After a series of complex restructurings and takeovers, the company has been a subsidiary of Persimmon plc since 2001.
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Wilson Homes . |
