Development Securities agrees to buy Cathedral Group for £27m
DEVELOPMENT Securities agreed yesterday to buy long-time joint venture partner Cathedral Group for £27.4m, adding nine schemes to its growing portfolio.
Cathedral was founded in 1998 by chief executive Richard Upton and chairman Barry Bennett, who will join Development Securities’ board after the acquisition.
It is best known for regeneration schemes such as the Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes – once home to music retailer HMV – which it redeveloping with Development Securities into a new hub for manufacturing entrepreneurs.
In the year to 31 December 2012, it posted a pre-tax profit of £3.9m.
Development Securities chief executive Michael Marx, said: “The acquisition of Cathedral is highly complementary to our existing activities. We are adding a portfolio of attractive development projects to our own portfolio, with the potential to deliver further gains in the years ahead.”
Cathedral’s 25 employees will also join the company.