Private equity tycoon Guy Hands is reportedly plotting the £300m takeover of East Anglia’s biggest private housebuilder, Hopkins Homes.
According to Sky News, Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners has lodged a bid for Hopkins Homes, which was established by James Hopkins in 1992.
City sources told Sky that Hands was likely to fund the bid from his personal fortune and that if successful he intends to merge Hopkins Homes with Tilia Homes, the housebuilder he bought from Kier Group earlier this year.
One insider said Hands was intent on creating a substantial housebuilding industry player, having been outbid during the summer for Keepmoat Homes.
Sky said it was unclear whether Hopkins Homes was running a proactive sale process, or whether it had received an unsolicited approach from Terra Firma.