With the deal to buy Countryside Partnerships (CSP), Kent-based housebuilder Vistry (VTY) sent a clear signal to the market that not only was it confident in its own prospects but the opportunity to consolidate within the industry was too good to miss.

The £1.25 billion price tag for Countryside represented less than a 10% premium to the undisturbed share price and a considerable discount to a previous bid by private equity firm Inclusive Capital pitched at almost £1.5 billion and rejected in June.

It hasn’t been plain sailing for Countryside shareholders this year.

In April, the firm released its operational review which identified a number of areas it needed to fix, alongside significant provisions for fire safety work, sending the shares to multi-year lows.

To its credit, management took ownership of the issues and laid out a plan to solve them making the performance of the business more consistent.

Vistry chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said combining the two companies was ‘highly compelling’ from a strategic viewpoint, creating a leader in partnership housing and leveraging the skills and market knowledge of both teams.

As well as adding Countryside’s timber frame business, which will bring ‘significant benefits’ to Vistry, cost savings of over £50 million are expected within a couple of years.

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