Taylor Wimpey starts auction US and Canada arm

Taylor Wimpey, Britain's second-largest housebuilder, has fired the starting gun on the auction of its North American arm, according to sources.

The move to offload the Taylor Morrison subsidiary comes a week after the company reached agreement with its banks on a refinancing package, with a revised 950m credit facility..

Some of America's largest housebuilders are believed to be interested, alongside private equity groups and specialist investors. It is thought that Taylor is looking at splitting the US and Canadian businesses, which have an estimated combined land value of around 600 million.

The sale will enable Taylor Wimpey to cut its 633m debt pile and focus on boosting its sales margins and volumes in the UK, where it trades as Bryant Homes, Laing Homes and George Wimpey.