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Major construction firm eyes return to affordable housing market
Major construction firm Galliford Try will return to the affordable housing market after a four-year absence.
The firm was excluded from building in the sector when it sold its Linden Homes and partnerships businesses to Vistry for £1.1bn in 2020.
The non-competition agreement has now lapsed, allowing Galliford Try to re-enter the market as part of its growth strategy.
Announcing Galliford Try’s new five-year plan, chief executive Bill Hocking said: “We see this as a big area of growth, with scope to increase our housing offer as we move forward.
“Initially we will concentrate on contracting for housing associations and landlords.”
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Mr Hocking said the return to affordable housing was part of the firm’s plan to deliver a 4% group-wide margin and reach £2.2bn turnover by 2030, up from £1.4bn today.
Angela Brockbank, affordable homes sector director at Galliford Try, joined the firm in September 2023 to restart this side of the business.
She told Inside Housing the firm is "building up to" a target of 1,200 affordable homes delivered a year by 2030.
Currently Galliford Try will pursue schemes as a contractor, rather than developer. However, she said, "we will be scoping out partnership opportunities" and may start taking on more of a development role in future.
Ms Brockbank said the firm wanted to build "mid-rise, urban, dense schemes", not houses, and was looking at cities including London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Cardiff.
Mr Hocking continued: “Our strategy will be delivered through continued growth in our existing core markets within building and infrastructure, as well as in higher-margin adjacent markets including the private rented sector, affordable homes, capital maintenance and asset optimisation within water, and green retrofit.”
In a stock exchange update, Galliford Try said the UK’s “planned, and required, investment in economic and social infrastructure continues to support growth in our chosen markets”.
It said the firm had a “high-quality order book”, including recent framework and project wins, as well as a “robust and resilient pipeline of opportunities”. “We are confident that we will continue to deliver sustainable, profitable growth to 2030,” it added.
Some personnel moves were also detailed in the update. Andrew Duxbury, group finance director, whose resignation was previously announced, will leave Galliford Try on 31 May. Mr Hocking will assume interim responsibility for the finance role.
Kris Hampson, whose appointment was previously announced, will join the firm as chief financial officer in September.
To reflect the growth of the infrastructure business, David Lowery will join the executive board on 1 July as divisional managing director, infrastructure.
Galliford Try completed its sale of Linden Homes and Galliford Try Partnerships, its housebuilding businesses, to Bovis Homes in 2020. The deal was valued at £1.1bn and included a £300m cash payment. Upon completing the deal, Bovis renamed itself Vistry.
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