The new merger will be the UK’s largest house building group with combined pro forma annual revenues of over £6.7bn, total UK house completions of approximately 22,000 per annum, total North American house completions of approximately 9,000 per annum and a combined market capitalisation of approximately £5bn.

The combined group has a pro forma landbank of over 92,000 plots in the UK and will be strengthened in the US through the combination of operations across some of the most attractive US markets.

It will have a larger business with a lean UK housing head office and decentralised structure.

The boards have agreed a unified management team under the leadership of Peter Redfern as chief executive. Reporting to Peter Redfern will be Peter Johnson as finance director, Ian Sutcliffe as UK CEO and John Landrum as North American president. This executive team will sit on the Board, which will be chaired by Norman Askew with equal non-executive director representation from Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey.

The Merger is expected to complete in the summer of 2007.