We have provided multi-disciplinary support to Miller Homes during its purchase of St. Modwen Homes in a deal worth £215m. The team has acted as real estate and general due diligence advisers in conjunction with the principal corporate transactional counsel.
The purchase will see Miller Homes acquire 19 live sites, totalling around 3,500 plots for new homes, and a further five strategic sites, growing its business in the West Midlands, East Midlands and South regions and expanding into the South West for the first time.
The acquisition is part of Miller Homes’ growth strategy and will help meet its medium-term target of building 6,000 homes a year. It will continue to operate the business under the St. Modwen Homes brand.
The team at Gateley Legal have advised on a spectrum of residential development, planning, construction, regulatory, environmental, employment, tax and corporate matters.
Partner and national head of residential development, Callum Nuttall, led the core team for the transaction which included residential development partners Belinda Laurance and Ryan Ferguson, legal director Rachael Waugh, residential development senior associate Jonathan Cree and planning partner Karen Howard, with notable contributions also being played by real estate partner Lee McBride and regulatory partner Ruth Armstrong. The corporate team, led by partner Max Moore, corporate associate Gweni Rees-Evans and foreign qualified lawyer, Tanisha Gupta, carried out a linked extensive general due diligence exercise on the target business on all non-property aspects.
Callum Nuttall commented: “This was a strong collaborative effort from our team to deliver seamless support over the last six months to assist Miller Homes. We’re pleased to have helped drive this significant property deal towards successfully crossing the line in a move which will support meeting the Government’s housing targets.”
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q1 of 2025.