Sixth Street, the US-based investor, has agreed a deal with Legal & General to purchase Cala, which ranks among Britain’s ten biggest housebuilders.
Sixth Street has teamed up with Patron Capital Partners – Cala’s former owner – and will own the larger share of the company after their offer was accepted.
The takeover of Cala, which is expected to complete in Q4 2024, values the business at £1.35bn – a higher price than previous estimates.
Kevin Whitaker, CEO of Cala said: “The announcement is excellent news for Cala. This investment by Sixth Street and Patron demonstrates their confidence in Cala’s business plan and further potential. We look forward to developing a strong partnership with Sixth Street and reigniting the excellent relationship we shared with Patron between 2013 and 2018.
“I would like to thank Legal & General for their support since they first invested in Cala. With their backing, Cala has successfully tripled the number of homes we build each year, whilst revenue and profits have grown five- and ten- fold respectively.
“Cala’s biggest strength is the talent and passion of our people, and I would like to thank our dedicated employees for continuing to deliver for the business and our customers. Cala is in a strong position to go forward, with new ownership and a platform to deliver our next stage of growth. We have talented teams in place across the business, and continue to invest in our land pipeline, to grow our delivery of high quality, sustainable new homes throughout the UK.”
Julian Salisbury, co-chief investment Officer of Sixth Street, commented: “Cala has a bright future and we are proud to be entering this new chapter as stewards of a company with such a deep history and long track record of sustainable growth. We, together with Patron, look forward to continuing to support Cala and its management team, not only with capital but also with the significant resources of our London-based real estate investment team led by Giulio Passanisi.”
Keith Breslauer, Managing Director and founder of Patron Capital, stated: “We are pleased to be able to back the Cala business once again. Cala is one of the UK’s leading housebuilders with a best-in-class landbank and a focus on building high-quality homes, being consistently ranked five-star for customer service. Furthermore, Cala is also a people business with a strong corporate culture and a business we know well, and we look forward to working closely with Cala’s impressive management team and our partner, Sixth Street, to further build the business and help tackle the undersupply of homes in the UK.”
António Simões, group chief executive officer of Legal & General, added: “This transaction demonstrates continued momentum in executing our strategy, simplifying our portfolio to enable a sharper focus on our core, synergistic businesses. Cala has been an important part of L&G for over a decade, with profits increasing ten-fold since our initial investment in 2013.
“The sale will provide capital to deliver our strategic goals of sustainable growth alongside enhanced returns for shareholders. I’d like to thank the whole Cala team for their contribution to the Group and wish them every success in the future.”