A £2.5bn merger between housebuilders Barratt and rival Redrow has been given the go ahead after the firms agreed to sell a small number of homes to avoid local competition issues.
The merger, announced by the companies in February, has been under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) due to concerns that it could significantly reduce competition.
The two companies currently hold a large share of land in the catchment area around Barratt’s Tilstock Road development and Redrow’s Kingsbourne development in Nantwich.
However Barratt said today the watchdog had given it the green light to continue with the merger after the companies agreed to the sale of the homes in question. It added that it now expected the deal to complete within 18 months.
The merger will see Redrow’s current CEO, Matthew Pratt, become the new group CEO while Nicky Dulieu and Geeta Nanda will join the board as non-executive directors.
Barbara Richmond, Redrow’s chief financial officer, will assume a dual role as group integration and synergies director, overseeing the merger’s integration for at least 12 months.
The group will be rebranded as Barratt Redrow plc.
