Taylor Wimpey has dropped out of the running for CALA Homes after its opening bid was knocked back by Legal & General, which is hopeful that its housebuilding business will fetch at least £1billion.
Taylor Wimpey, one of the biggest housebuilders in Britain, is understood to have tabled an offer as part of the first round of bidding.
Persimmon, another FTSE 100 developer, is still in the running, having made it through to the second round, although it will have to improve on its first offer, which has been described as “a bit underwhelming” by a source in The Times.
“Private equity firms are still the favourites as they can stump up cash, whereas a trade buyer would have to offer paper and cash,” the insider said.
Patron Capital, which sold a majority stake in CALA to Legal & General in 2018, is still in the process. Bridgepoint, TDR Capital and Terra Firma are among the other private equity houses said to have looked at CALA, but their interest is reported to have cooled.
CALA Homes traces its roots back to Aberdeen in 1875 and it is now wholly owned by Legal & General, the insurance company.
Legal & General confirmed last month that it was open to offers for CALA as part of plans to simplify the group by António Simões, the new chief executive of the insurer.