Cala catches eye of potential buyer from China

Cala, the upmarket housebuilder based in Edinburgh, is reported to have been approached by a Chinese firm about a potential £600 million takeover.

Edinburgh-based Cala recently posted record annual profits. Picture: Contributed

The firm, which earlier this month reported record annual profits, is in early stage talks with the mystery suitor, Sky News reported today.

Cala began life in 1875 as the City of Aberdeen Land Association, and three years ago the builder was bought by private equity firm Patron Capital Partners and insurer Legal & General in a deal worth £210m.

Accounts for the year to the end of June revealed that pre-tax profits topped £60m for the first time in the group’s history. Revenues rose by 15 per cent to £587.1m.

The group also saw its headcount rise by almost 100 while the average selling price of its properties rose by 6 per cent to £538,000.

Speaking at the time of this month’s results, chief executive Alan Brown said: “Despite headwinds in some of our markets, we have continued to build on the strong momentum we have generated over recent years, once again delivering robust volume and revenue growth while still achieving incremental improvements in our return on capital employed.

“Our growth strategy remains to focus on driving operational efficiency improvements throughout the group as we continue scaling up our divisions.

“Alongside this, we continue to invest in building the size and capability of our teams, welcoming almost 100 additional members of staff to the business including our ongoing increase of apprenticeship and graduate recruitment initiatives across the group.”

A spokesman for Cala was not immediately available for comment.

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