Hunter prepares £2bn bid for Wilson Bowden

Published on Sunday 21 January 2007 00:13

SCOTTISH entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter is almost certain to launch a £2bn cash bid for housebuilder Wilson Bowden tomorrow in a straight fight with Barratt.

Hunter is thought to be in a strong position after indicating that he could pull together an all-cash offer for the family-controlled group.

Wilson Bowden would be the third big UK housebuilder to come under the expanding Hunter empire if he were to table a successful offer by tomorrow's extended deadline.

He has already paid 1.1bn for retirement homes company McCarthy & Stone and has won the backing of the board of Crest Nicholson for a 713m takeover, which is nearer 1bn when pensions and other costs are taken into account.

The bid deadline for Wilson Bowden, which has been in play since July, was extended from Friday to allow Hunter to bid, and sources say it is still a case of "will he, won't he". Suggestions that he was the front-runner have been played down, given that he is not keen to overpay or enter into an auction.

Even so, it now looks like Hunter will go head-to-head with Barratt Developments and Wimpey after Redrow dropped out and Persimmon withdrew early on.

He would bid with regular bank partner HBOS and almost certainly involve others likely to be drawn from a familiar group of co-investors, such as high-street raider Baugur and property tycoons Nick Leslau and the Reuben Brothers.

A source said Hunter was "not desperate to do a deal" and that others in the running might be more compelled to acquire Wilson Bowden. Among Hunter's rivals, Barratt is thought to be the keenest after being overtaken in size by Persimmon, and it is more likely to meet the asking price.

In Hunter's favour is that he has developed a track record in the sector and the market likes his injection of capital.

Hunter has also been pursuing garden centre businesses. On Friday he acquired a further 2.5% of Dobbies Garden Centres at 1,175p, against a closing market price of 1,260p. It takes his stake to 7.95%.