Housebuilder believed to be subject of bid from Kier Living buyer with firm also mulling float on stock exchange

The chief executive of 拢400m-turnover partnerships housebuilder Keepmoat has admitted its private equity owners are considering 鈥渙ptions鈥� to sell or float the business.

Tim Beale said the firm鈥檚 owners, private equity firms Sun Capital and TDR Capital were 鈥済enuinely open-minded鈥� about whether to pursue a sale of the business or a flotation on the stock exchange.

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Tim Beale said the firm鈥檚 owners are looking at options including a sale and floating the business

Beale鈥檚 comments come after it was reported last week that , which in the spring bought Kier鈥檚 housebuilding business for 拢110m.

Beale, before the reports emerged, said he couldn鈥檛 comment in detail about any sale process being undertaken by the owners.

But he said: 鈥淜eepmoat鈥檚 a really robust, attractive business these days and myself and the team have worked very hard to get Keepmoat into a very good place, so it鈥檚 natural there鈥檒l be speculation about its future 鈥� it鈥檚 all positive.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a privately owned business and we鈥檙e always looking at options [鈥 It鈥檚 no secret that we鈥檙e looking at all of our options.鈥�

Beale said there was no timeframe to the sale process and that the owners took 鈥渁 long-term view鈥� of the business and were 鈥渁 good custodian of Keepmoat鈥�.

Asked if the owners were favouring either a sale or a flotation on the stock exchange, Beale said: 鈥淚 think the only fair answer to that is they are genuinely open-minded on that.鈥�

It has been reported that a 拢700m bid by Terra Firma is one of several on the table being considered by Keepmoat鈥檚 current owners, who bought the business in 2014.

Doncaster-based Keepmoat, which builds affordable and private homes on sites in partnership with housing associations and local authorities, fell to a 拢19.5m loss in the year to October 2020 as it was forced to close sites in the wake of the spring covid lockdown. Turnover at the firm, which operates primarily in the North and Midlands, dropped to 拢406m, from 拢650m in 2019, while housing completions fell by nearly 40% to 2,460 from over 4,000 the year before.

But Beale said the firm had already completed sales of 1,903 homes in the first half of the 2021 financial year and had bounced back with the resurgence in the housing market.

He said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e sold out till October. It鈥檚 our strongest forward sales position we鈥檝e ever been in. If anything, I鈥檓 holding things back a little bit.鈥�

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