Redrow plc
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| Type | Public (LSE: RDW) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Housebuilding |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Flintshire, Wales |
| Key people | Steve Morgan (Executive chairman) John Tutte (Managing director) |
| Revenue | £478.9 million (2012)[1] |
| Operating income | £48.0 million (2012)[1] |
| Net income | £30.2 million (2012)[1] |
| Website | www.redrow.co.uk |
Redrow plc is a British housebuilding and general construction company based in Flintshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
Steve Morgan had been working as a site agent for Wellington Civil Engineering when, in 1974, the parent company decided it was to be closed. Morgan offered to take over the contract, borrowed £5,000 from his father, and completed the contract at a profit. Further work was carried out for Wellington and, still aged only 21, Morgan registered his new company – Redrow.[2]
Redrow gradually expanded through small civil engineering work and, with Simon Macbryde, formed a separate building company; these were later merged to leave Macbryde with 17 percent of the enlarged company. Geographically, Redrow moved from its north Wales base into Cheshire and in the early 1980s made significant construction acquisitions in Manchester and the Wirral.[2]
Redrow’s entry into housebuilding came in 1982 and by 1985 it had grown sufficiently to separate it out from the construction business. A small acquisition in Kent provided the base for a south-east housing operation; a midlands housing subsidiary was formed in 1986 and in 1987 Redrow bought Whelmar Lancashire, one of the five housing subsidiaries then being sold by Christian Salvesen. By now, Redrow was selling over 1,000 houses a year.[3] Further expansion took Redrow into the south-west, south Wales and Yorkshire but Redrow had pulled out of the vulnerable south-east market just ahead of the 1989 property collapse.
Redrow returned to the south-east in 1993 as the housing recession neared its end, buying Costain Homes from the troubled Costain Group; this took Redrow’s housing sales up to 2,000 a year.[2] The construction business was sold and with Redrow now purely a development business the Company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1994.[4] Redrow grew steadily through the rest of the decade reaching sales of 3,000 a year but in 2000 Steve Morgan announced his intention to leave the company, retaining only a 14 percent stake in the Company. Paul Pedley, who had joined Redrow as finance director in 1995, took over as managing director.[3]
In 2009, Steve Morgan returned to Redrow as Executive Chairman, having increased his shareholding to just under 30 percent.[5]
In 2011 Redrow sold its Scotland operation to Springfield Properties Plc to focus on increased investment in other areas, especially London and the south east.[6]
Operations
The Company operates two main businesses:
- Redrow Homes
- Redrow Regeneration
References
- ^ a b c Preliminary Results 2012
- ^ a b c Burland and Whitehouse, The Redrow Way (1999)
- ^ a b Wellings, Fred: Dictionary of British Housebuilders (2006) Troubador. ISBN 978-0-9552965-0-5
- ^ Company Prospectus
- ^ Steve Morgan regains control of Redrow in swift coup The Times, 21 March 2009
- ^ Springfield Properties buys Redrow's Scottish business What House, 1 July 2011
External links
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