The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found one area of “competitive concern” regarding the merger between Barratt and Redrow, but the builders have said they will find a solution.
In February this year, the Barratt and Redrow boards reported that they had reached an agreement for an all-share offer to combine the firms, which would see Barratt acquire the entire share capital of Redrow.
Fast-forwarding to May, Barratt and Redrow said that the combination had been approved by the majority of their shareholders.
In June, the CMA recommended an investigation and has now concluded that the merger “does not raise competition issues”, barring the supply of new builds in one of the more than 400 areas where the two companies overlap.
Barratt and Redrow said that they “intend to engage with the CMA with the objective of agreeing suitable undertakings” to avoid a second investigation.
The companies said: “For the one local area where the CMA has identified a competition concern, we have identified undertakings [that] we believe will address those concerns. The local area in question is a geographic area (11-mile straight-line distance) centred around Whitchurch, Shropshire [that] contains four Barratt developments and a Redrow development that has fewer than 10 plots remaining to sell.
“The proposed undertakings will seek to address the future conduct of sales and build on the Redrow site. No land disposals are being anticipated or proposed.”
The CMA’s deadline for a decision on whether the “undertakings” are sufficient is 22 August.
David Thomas, group chief executive of Barratt, said: “We are pleased that the CMA has found there would be no harm to competition in all but one of the areas in which Barratt and Redrow overlap.
“We remain confident that the combination of Barratt and Redrow will be approved and that it is in the best interests of our customers and wider stakeholders. Together, we plan to build on our shared strengths and create an exceptional homebuilder, in terms of quality, service, and sustainability, helping to deliver the homes the country needs.”
Matthew Pratt, group chief executive of Redrow, said: “Barratt and Redrow are two leading housebuilders, with strong reputations for quality, service and sustainability that have been decades in the making. Once the CMA process has completed, we are looking forward to our future as one team, accelerating the delivery of high-quality homes that the country so urgently needs.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
