The new chief executive of housebuilder Bryant has hinted that he would be happy to take a back seat in a merged company if he could strike the right deal.
Peter Long, who has been in his post for three months, said he was keen to link up with a commercial partner, although he added that one merger might not be enough.
He said: 鈥淲e need to be bigger for the stock market and may have to do it [merge] twice over.鈥�
Long said egos would not be allowed to put the brakes on a merger. 鈥淭he most important thing for me is shareholder value, so we wouldn鈥檛 allow personalities to get in the way of that 鈥� and that includes myself,鈥� he said.
Merger talks between Bryant and Alfred McAlpine broke down earlier this year, partly because of uncertainty over who would run the new business.
Analysts said Long鈥檚 determination to find a partner could spark long-awaited consolidation in the sector. The City has long complained that housebuilders鈥� bosses are too reluctant to relinquish boardroom power.
Long made his comments at Bryant鈥檚 results meeting, where he reported a 35% rise in pre-tax profit to 拢90.3m for the year to 31 May. This was on turnover up from 拢638m to 拢705m. Operating margins rose from 13.7% to 15.8%.
We need to be bigger for the stock market and may have to do it [merge] twice over
Peter Long, Chief Executive, Bryant
Despite the upbeat results, Long warned that the market in the South-east was slowing down. 鈥淲e are calling the top of the market,鈥� he said.
He went on to outline Bryant鈥檚 business strategy for the new conditions.
It is retrenching in the South-east after paying too much for land during the early 1990s. The company expects to save 拢1m a year by merging its two South-east arms with the loss of 20 jobs.
Bryant has also written off 拢4.2m of greenfield land held under option during the year to May, as new planning guidelines mean that it no longer expects to be able to develop it.
However, the company is expanding and rebranding its Options division. This offers housebuyers add-on services such as interior design, landscaping and home security. The division鈥檚 new name is to be Bryant Design.
Long also said this week that he was planning to boost the firm鈥檚 stock market standing by buying back and cancelling up to 10% of its shares. They have been 20% down on the sector鈥檚 average price over the past 12 months.
At the close of trading on Tuesday, Bryant鈥檚 share price stood at 122p, below its net asset value of 124p a share.
