Taylor Woodrow Construction said to be for sale

Taylor Woodrow Construction looks to have had the “For Sale” sign hung out as its housebuilder owner Taylor Wimpey delves deep into its pocket to find whatever it can to steer the ship through troubled financial waters.

The Financial Times reports that bankers worked through the night on Tuesday putting the finishing touches to a deal raise about £500m by tapping the pockets of Taylor Wimpey’s existing shareholders.

To make them feel that everything is being done to keep this massive sum to the minimum, there is a need to show that no stone has been overturned, hence the report that the group’s construction wing has become non-core.

Taylor Woodrow Group merged with fellow housebuilder George Wimpey 18 months ago. The deal is seen by many followers of the sector as having been a take-over of Wimpey.

Wimpey came on board without a construction division as a result of a swap deal with Tarmac (now Carillion) 10 years earlier.

“The company is grappling with a collapse in the UK housing sector,” says the F/T this morning “Some builders have reported falls in home reservations of about two-thirds since last year.”

CJ has reported in the past that Taylor Woodrow Construction was likely to change hands as a result of the on-going consolidation of the main players in the sector.

One commentator had seen Andrew Wyllie, chief executive of Costain, as most likely to wield the chequebook, having himself previously headed up Taylor Woodrow Construction.

However a more common view today is that Costain itself is likely to be taken out, most probably by Kier.