黑洞社区

Bellway Homes is launching divisions in the Thames Valley and South Yorkshire as part of an expansion drive.

Alistair Leitch, Bellway鈥檚 finance director, told 黑洞社区 that the company intended to move quickly to establish permanent offices in the regions.

He said: 鈥淲e already have someone looking for sites in the Thames Valley, and have someone in place to organise the division.鈥�

The expansion may be part of an attempt to forestall a takeover of the company.

There has been increasing speculation that Bellway, which is the UK鈥檚 fourth largest housebuilder, may be the next victim of the housebuilding sector鈥檚 continuing consolidation drive. Leitch said this week that it would take a 鈥渂ig argument and an even bigger chequebook鈥� for anyone to buy the company.

He added that Bellway would consider making an acquisition itself if a firm鈥檚 share price represented 鈥減roper value鈥�.

The expansion is also likely to raise the firm鈥檚 margins. Bellway specialises in low-cost housing and is strong in northern England, where house prices tend to be less than the national average. This would be offset by developments in the more highly priced Thames Valley area.

Bellway鈥檚 results for the six months to 31 January, announced this week, showed that its margins fell slightly to 19% from 18.7% in the same period the previous year.

Its pre-tax profit was 拢101m, a rise of 15% on the 拢88m it recorded in the corresponding period in 2005/06. Turnover rose 14% to 拢577m and sales increased 10% to 3,264.

The firm, which has its headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne, has 18 divisions in England, Scotland and Wales.