Legal & General lines up bankers to sell housebuilder Cala

Legal & General (L&G) is drawing up plans to sell Cala Group, one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, marking the first significant strategic move by its new chief executive.

Sky News has learnt that L&G is lining up bankers at Rothschild to oversee a sale of the company.

City insiders said that Cala was likely to be valued at up to £750m in a sale.

The move comes just weeks after Antonio Simoes, a former HSBC and Santander executive, replaced Sir Nigel Wilson, one of Britain’s most prominent business leaders, as L&G’s chief executive.

Money latest: Primark adding stickers to bags to clamp down on theft

Mr Simoes described Cala as “a very strong business” during an earnings call last month on which he was quizzed about the housebuilder’s future ownership.

Last month, L&G sought to deny any intention to sell the business, which it took full control of in 2018, in response to an enquiry from Sky News.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Cala reported a slide in half-year profits last autumn, citing a “challenging market”.

The company has a long-term goal to build 3,000 homes annually.

It was not among eight housebuilders named by the Competition and Markets Authority in February over suspicions they had exchanged commercially sensitive information.

L&G was contacted for comment on Monday.