Crest Nicholson

Crest Nicholson
Company typePublic
IndustryHousebuilding
Founded1963
HeadquartersWeybridge, Surrey, UK
Key people
Iain Ferguson (Chairman)
Martyn Clark (CEO)
RevenueDecrease £657.5 million (2023)[1]
Decrease £44.2 million (2023)[1]
Decrease £17.9 million (2023)[1]
Websitewww.crestnicholson.com

Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Weybridge, Surrey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

Napsbury Park, a Crest Nicholson redevelopment in Hertfordshire

1963-2000

The company was founded by Bryan Skinner in 1963 as Crest Homes and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1968. One of the characteristics that differentiated Crest from most other housebuilders of the time was “not to hold large stocks of land”.[2]

During 1969, Crest made its first diversification via the acquisition of En-Tout-Cas, a leading firm in tennis court construction. Two years later, it purchased Tony Pidgley’s earth moving business; Pidgley teamed up with Jim Farrer, a board member and originally the estate agent who had provided Skinner with his first land. These two ran Crest’s housing until 1975, at which point they left to form Berkeley Homes.[3]

In 1972, a new holding company, Crest Securities, was formed to facilitate further diversification.[4] At the end of that year, Crest bought Camper & Nicholsons, a leading yacht manufacturer, leading to the firm changing its name to Crest Nicholson. Additional acquisitions followed, such as the Lamson Engineering (1975), the spectacle makers Crofton (1979) and Greenwood Electronics (1983). Crest also bought the west-country construction firm of CH Pearce in 1985.[5]

During 1983, Bryan Skinner retired due to ill health; following management changes, many of the moves towards diversification were reversed. Non-housing businesses were sold in the late 1980s while in the housing division Crest started to pursue the acquisition of a long land bank.[3]

Crest Nicholson encountered considerable challenges in 1991; in addition to incurring a £34 million loss for the six months to April of that year, its head office was permanently closed and 150 jobs were lost as the company was restructured while chief executive Roger Lewis stepped down from his position.[6] On 1 January 1991, John St Lawrence was appointed as chairman of Crest Nicholson; job losses increased to 300 around this time.[7][8] Six months later, the company had recorded a pre-tax loss of £1.7 million for the first half of the year; it has also sold its loss-making sports surface business.[9]

During early 1993, the firm reportedly became profitable once again.[10] Profits would increase during the following years as the housing market recovered from the early 1990s recession.[11] In 1999, Crest Nicholson set up a dedicated construction management arm that focused on urban development opportunities.[12]

2000-2019

During June 2000, Pearce Group, the construction division of Crest Nicholson, reported an operating loss of £100,000 over a six month period, which was attributed to its retail activities;[13] despite this, the division benefitted from a housing boom at that time.[14] In the following year, chief executive John Callcutt publicly voiced his opposition to both mergers and quotas in the housebuilding sector.[15][16] During early 2002, Crest Nicholson began seeking a buyer for Pearce Group,[17] although it went on to reject an offer submitted by Montpellier in June of that year.[18] In the latter half of 2002, Pearce Group was reoriented towards the public sector and its high-tech unit was permanently shuttered amid losses.[19][20] Pearce Group was eventually sold via a management buyout.[21]

During the mid 2000s, Crest Nicholson placed an increased emphasis on the affordable housing sector of the market,[22] and continued to pursue organic growth of the business.[23] In March 2005, Heron Corporation submitted a £480 million bid to takeover Crest Nicholson which was rejected by the firm's management;[24][25] two months later, Heron walked away from talks.[26][27][28]

In March 2007, the company was taken private after it accepted a £715 million offer from a consortium led by HBOS and Sir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur.[29][28] The company was re-listed on the London Stock Exchange in February 2013.[30]

During 2010, subsidiary company Crest Nicholson (Londinium) Ltd. was party to a high court and Court of Appeal case which addressed the difference between the court's role in construing the terms of a contract which two parties had agreed, and its role in assessing whether an offer capable of acceptance had been made, and if so, whether it had been accepted.[31]

In May 2018, it was reported that Stephen Stone, the then chief executive of Crest Nicholson, had stepped down after heading the housebuilder for 12 years. Strong became the firm's executive chairman while Patrick Bergin was appointed chief executive.[32][33]

During June 2018, it was reported that the company would be pulling back from the London housing market as a cost-cutting measure.[34] It will close its central London office and will be less likely to buy land in London.[35]

In January 2019, Crest Nicholson put a £400 million housing development in Hove on hold in response to the company achieving lower profits. The company's chief executive, Patrick Bergin, informed The Times that "It would be imprudent of us to make a commitment on a scheme of that type when we’ve got limited visibility on future pricing."[36]

During September 2019, the company appointed Peter Truscott as chief executive along with the adoption of a new strategy of reducing overhead costs and repositioning its margins.[37] That same month, it announced the appointment of Iain Ferguson as its new chairman.[38]

2020-present

In January 2020, Truscott said the company had over-concentrated on building off-site manufacturing capabilities, and would now focus on improving on-site operational efficiency and on introducing group-wide construction specifications to cut material buying costs.[39] Poor financial performance was blamed on political uncertainty and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and led to the company consulting on 130 redundancies from its 966-strong workforce.[40]

During June 2023, Crest Nicholson was found liable for the actions of a site manager who an employment tribunal stated to have raped a colleague after a work Christmas party.[41]

In June 2024, Crest Nicholson reported a pre-tax loss of £30.9 million in the half year to April 2024 on turnover of £257.5 million. Having reported provisions for £15 million of legacy contract problems relating to its former Regeneration division, it increased the provision to £31.4 million following a review supported by external consultants. The company also set aside £145.2 million relating to historic building fire safety costs. CEO Peter Truscott stepped down and was replaced by former Persimmon executive Martyn Clark.[42]

Also in June 2024, Crest Nicholson said it had rejected a takeover bid from Bellway after receiving all-share proposals on 25 April and 14 May, the latter valuing the firm at £650 million.[43] As a further all-share offer from Bellway remained possible until 11 July 2024, Crest Nicholson rejected a competing approach from rival housebuilder Avant Homes.[44][45] On 10 July 2024, the Crest Nicholson board said it was "minded to recommend" an improved Bellway takeover offer of £720m to the company's shareholders.[46] On 8 August, the two companies were given a further 12 days to finish their due diligence work regarding the proposed merger,[47] but Bellway called off its bid on 13 August 2024.[48]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Annual Results 2023" (PDF). Crest Nicholson. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. ^ Company prospectus September 1968
  3. ^ a b Wellings, Fred (2006). Dictionary of British Housebuilders. Troubador. ISBN 978-0-9552965-0-5.
  4. ^ Company prospectus March 1972
  5. ^ "ISG snaps up Pearce and plans Asian shopping spree". Building. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  6. ^ "05Jul91 UK: CREST NICHOLSON REPORTS LOSS OF £34M FOR SIX MONTHS TO APRIL 1991". constructionnews.co.uk. 4 July 1991.
  7. ^ "20Feb92 UK: APPOINTMENT AT CREST NICHOLSON". constructionnews.co.uk. 20 February 1992.
  8. ^ "20Feb92 UK: INTERNAL REORGANISATION AT CREST NICHOLSON LEADS TO 300 JOB LOSSES". constructionnews.co.uk. 20 February 1992.
  9. ^ "09Jul92 UK: CREST NICHOLSON UNVEILS SHARPLY REDUCED PRETAX LOSSES IN SIX MONTHS TO APRIL 1992 OF £1.7M". constructionnews.co.uk. 9 July 1992.
  10. ^ "18Feb93 UK: BACK TO BLACK FOR CREST NICHOLSON". constructionnews.co.uk. 18 February 1993.
  11. ^ Fishlock, Bill (13 February 1997). "Increased profits at Crest Nicholson, Bryant point to recovery outside South-East House builders look buoyant in regions". constructionnews.co.uk.
  12. ^ Morby, Aaron (4 February 1999). "House builder forms construction management arm after government push for brownfield development Crest gears up for city sites". constructionnews.co.uk.
  13. ^ "Retail leaves Pearce seeing red". constructionnews.co.uk. 29 June 2000.
  14. ^ "Pearce riding on the crest of a house-building wave". constructionnews.co.uk. 3 February 2000.
  15. ^ "House builder shuts the door on mergers". constructionnews.co.uk. 1 February 2001.
  16. ^ "Crest says housing quota is unrealistic". constructionnews.co.uk. 5 July 2001.
  17. ^ "Crest seeks a buyer for contracting arm". constructionnews.co.uk. 7 February 2002.
  18. ^ "Crest turns down Montpellier offer". constructionnews.co.uk. 13 June 2002.
  19. ^ "Pearce in red as its hi-tech arm closes". constructionnews.co.uk. 4 July 2002.
  20. ^ "Pearce looks to public sector to restore profit". constructionnews.co.uk. 12 December 2002.
  21. ^ "Pearce in black for first buyout accounts". constructionnews.co.uk. 19 February 2004.
  22. ^ "Crest and Berkeley put faith into regeneration". constructionnews.co.uk. 1 July 2004.
  23. ^ "Crest to carry on growing organically, says Calcutt". constructionnews.co.uk. 5 February 2004.
  24. ^ Jivkov, Michael (17 March 2005). "Crest Nicholson spurns £480m offer from Ronson's Heron". The Independent.
  25. ^ "Heron faces takeover battle for Crest Nicholson". propertyweek.com. 16 March 2005.
  26. ^ "Crest fights off Heron bid". house-builder.co.uk. 17 March 2005.
  27. ^ "Crest Nicholson gives Heron final chance to make formal takeover bid". house-builder.co.uk. 1 May 2005.
  28. ^ a b Dover, Molly (16 April 2007). "Crest Nicholson shareholders approve 715-million-pound takeover bid". marketwatch.com.
  29. ^ "Crest Nicholson goes private". Building. 16 March 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  30. ^ "Housebuilder Crest Nicholson enjoys first float of the year". The Telegraph. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  31. ^ England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Crest Nicholson (Londinium) Ltd. v Akaria Investments Ltd., 2010, EWCA Civ 1331 (25 November 2010), accessed 26 December 2020
  32. ^ "Crest Nicholson boss steps down as profit rises". Construction News. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  33. ^ Fraser, Isabelle (2018). "Crest Nicholson boss steps down as housebuilder reports growing profits". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  34. ^ Monaghan, Angela (17 October 2018). "Crest Nicholson issues profit warning as house sales in London slow". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  35. ^ "Crest Nicholson pulls back from faltering London market". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  36. ^ Clarence-Smith, Louisa (30 January 2019). "Crest Nicholson forced to halt building project". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  37. ^ Rannard, Storm (31 October 2019). "Crest Nicholson working on 'value generating strategy'". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  38. ^ Daniel, Alex (11 September 2019). "Former Stobart chair Iain Ferguson takes charge at house builder Crest Nicholson". CityAM. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  39. ^ Prior, Grant (28 January 2020). "Crest Nicholson blames profit wobble on offsite focus". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  40. ^ "Crest Nicholson interims show £51m loss; job losses to come". The Construction Index. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  41. ^ Weinfass, Iain (5 June 2023). "Housebuilder held liable for rape committed after its Christmas party". Construction News. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  42. ^ Prior, Grant (13 June 2023). "Build problems plunge Crest Nicholson to a £31m loss". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  43. ^ Croft, Jane (14 June 2024). "UK housebuilder Crest Nicholson rejects £650m Bellway bid". Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  44. ^ Prior, Grant (5 July 2024). "Crest Nicholson rebuffs approach from another rival". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  45. ^ "Crest Nicholson parks Avant bid pending new Bellway offer". The Construction Index. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  46. ^ Gayne, Daniel (10 July 2024). "Crest Nicholson board 'minded to recommend' Bellway's improved £720m takeover offer to shareholders". Building. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  47. ^ "Crest Nicholson given more time to vet Bellway's offer". The Construction Index. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  48. ^ Marrs, Colin (13 August 2024). "Bellway calls off £720m Crest Nicholson merger bid". Construction News. Retrieved 13 August 2024.

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