City sees Crest Nicholson float worth some £550m

The firm, which was taken private by Ayrshire entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter and HBOS in May 2007, is now majority-owned by American distressed investment fund Varde Partners after a series of deals last year.

The new range would value the builder at about £550 million. The firm began taking orders for the offer under a bookbuilding process on 1 February at a price range of 195p to 230p.

Order books on the sale of the mix of new and existing shares, which the company has said will result in the float of at least 35 per cent of its issued share capital, closed last night, with pricing expected today.

The 50-year-old business announced last month it would return to the stock market, five years after it was taken over as a result of the market crash.

Peel Hunt analyst Robin Hardy advised the broker’s  clients to subscribe to Crest’s initial public offering, saying that the company looked set to come to market on a valuation below that of its peers, despite a “differentiated business model, attractive operating profile and genuine expansive growth.”

Surrey-based Crest Nicholson’s housing developments are spread across the south of England and Wales.