Management team buys Yuill

Oct 22 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

HOUSEBUILDER Yuill Homes has been bought out by its management team on the same day parent company Taggart Holdings announced it was entering administration.

The Hartlepool company, which has 150 staff based in the town, has been a fixture of the North East business community for more than 80 years.

Chairman Phillip Yuill owned the business until February 2006 when he sold out to Northern Ireland company Taggart Holdings.

The company, working on 12 sites around the North East, is now owned by Newbridge Enterprises which is owned by directors of Yuill Homes and the Bank of Scotland (Ireland) (Bosi).

Yuill said the deal was the result of comprehensive restructuring talks over the last few months between the company and Bosi to "further strengthen Yuill’s position and financial stability in a testing market place."

David Mullins, managing director of Yuill Homes, said: "Yuill Homes has a long and successful track record and this ensures that we are in the strongest position to handle what is a difficult market place for any house builder.

"Yuill Homes is virtually a North East institution and we are proud to be part of this next stage of development.

"For now it is very much business as usual, continuing to work with our staff, stakeholders and partners to ensure our customers receive the highest level of quality in delivering homes with a touch more imagination."

Claire McCombe, investment director of Bosi, said "Cecil M Yuill Ltd is a successful, well established and well managed business whose track record speaks for itself.

"We are pleased to be working with them in this venture that enables them to continue to trade from a position of strength and ensure the sustainability of a successful company during a challenging time in the market place."

Mr Mullins, 45, a former civil engineer, was born and bred in Hartlepool, has been with Yuill for more than 13 years. He said: "We currently build about 300 units a year and we have a goal to push that up to 450 to 500 homes in 2007 and 2008."

Yuill has built more than 30,000 homes since it was founded in 1927 by Cecil Yuill. Taggart Holdings confirmed yesterday an administrator had been appointed in respect of its operations in Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Director Michael Taggart described the appointment of an administrator at the request of the Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland as "deeply regrettable" and a sign of the seriousness of the crisis now facing the construction and property sectors.