Taylor Wimpey was formed through the merger of George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow on 3rd July 2007.
Both businesses have a history dating 80 years or more with George Wimpey dating back to the 1880’s and Taylor Woodrow to the 1920’s.
George Wimpey Plc – A brief history
1880s
1880 - George Wimpey established a stone working business in Hammersmith. George Wimpey and Company soon became a contractor of ‘high repute' responsible for major building projects as well as new road and tramway contracts throughout London.
1920s
1919 - G W Mitchell purchased the company from the Wimpey family and in June made it a private company, George Wimpey & Co Limited.
1920 - He continued to expand the road contracting business and during the 1920s he led Wimpey in their first moves into housebuilding. The period between the two world wars saw Wimpey established as a household name in the fields of building and civil engineering.
1930s
1933 - The first estate Wimpey built was Greenford Park Estate where a three bedroom terraced house sold for £575. Despite the depression of the 30s, Wimpey houses were selling fast.
1934 – By 1934 John McLean had become involved in a new area of the housing market building homes for local authorities.
1940s
1945 - After the war Britain suffered a shortage of both bricks and skilled labour, the Government needed to re-house the war torn population as well as improve the standard of its housing. In response to this, Wimpey perfected the No-Fines technique. The fast concrete based method providing excellent insulation proved to be irresistible and the technique was used to build more homes for local authorities than any other system.
1950s
Addressing the chronic housing shortage after the war was a primary objective for the Government. By the early 1950s, Wimpey was building 18,000 local authority dwellings a year.
1953 - John McLean opened a fully furnished show home with the garage fitted out as a sales centre – one of the first of its kind in the UK. Visitors often queued for hours to see the new concept.
1954 - Government restrictions on private housing were lifted and, for the first time in 15 years, both Wimpey and McLean were building private houses again.
1960s
Prime Minister Macmillan told the nation that they ‘never had it so good'. The housing market was booming, with the Wimpey regional businesses often having to turn work away.
1968 - John McLean was also expanding, and the company was achieving between 1,000 and 1,200 home sales each year.
1970s
Local authority housing policies changed and high rise flats were no longer acceptable. Wimpey altered its focus to build low-rise dwellings on landscaped estates. Refurbishment of existing local authority homes became an important part of the business. Wimpey became the UK's largest private housebuilder selling 106,440 homes in this decade.
1974 - Tarmac acquired John McLean.
1980s
1980 – was the company's centenary. Wimpey had become a major international contractor and housebuilder, with branches throughout the world. This was a decade when both Wimpey Homes and John McLean continued to grow rapidly and expand into new areas of the UK. Wimpey began to reinforce Wimpey Homes as a brand, focusing on quality compact housing. Advertising, featuring the famous Wimpey cat, ensured Wimpey became a household name in housebuilding. Tarmac also expanded, acquiring new companies to create a nationwide presence, with local businesses spanning from Scotland to Cornwall.
1984 - Wimpey acquired the Morrison Homes business in Northern California.
1990s
The businesses continued to grow with Wimpey becoming one of the world's largest private homebuilders, expanding its business in the States and Australia as well as the UK.
1996 – Wimpey acquired McLean Homes from Tarmac. George Wimpey concluded its construction and quarry business and dedicated itself to home building and became one of the world's largest private housebuilders.
2000s
2001 - In October McAlpine Homes was acquired adding to the strength of the UK housing business.
2002 - George Wimpey Plc acquired Laing Homes to further strengthen the existing UK business by adding a premium brand.
2006 – In July Pete Redfern took over from Peter Johnson as Chief Executive of George Wimpey.
2007 - With unparalleled experience of building homes, George Wimpey continued to be a dedicated housebuilding company and was at the forefront of the industry in health and safety, build quality and customer service. George Wimpey was the core brand operating across the UK. In the US, Morrison Homes operated across six states in the Southeast, Southwest and West. Morrison Homes had developed a distinct brand based on quality and customer service - housing industry expert John Woodland ranked Morrison Homes among the top 5% of all homebuilders for overall customer satisfaction.
Taylor Woodrow plc History
1920s
1921 - 16-year old Frank Taylor borrowed £100 to build 2 houses in Blackpool. Too young to form his own company, his uncle Jack Woodrow lent his name to the business and 'Taylor Woodrow' was born. Frank Taylor made 100% profit on this first venture.
1930s
1930 - Commercial opportunities prompted Taylor Woodrow to move to Hayes, Middlesex to build 1200 homes on the Grange Park Estate. By April 1931 homes were being completed and passed for habitation at the rate of four a day.
1935 - Taylor Woodrow became a limited company with a capital of £3 million. Housing development began in the US and contracting activity started.
1937 - Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd was formed.
1939 - The Second World War broke out. Frank Taylor ordered that all houses near completion should be finished and no further work should be done on remaining properties. The team was evacuated from Southall to Kidlington near Oxford. The skills used in Taylor Woodrow's work on the Royal Ordnance Factories, airfields and a penicillin factory raised its profile.
1940s
1942 - Acquired Greenham, entering the merchant trading and minerals business. Contributed to the war effort through the collaborated construction of the Mulberry Ports, used in France after the D-day landings. "Piers for Use on Beaches - they must float up and down with the tide." - Winston Churchill.
1945 - Taylor Woodrow now had 7 subsidiaries, 3 associate companies in the US. The Company looked for new markets while continuing to build homes in the US. In London, Atlantic House was built - the first major reconstruction in the City of London since the bombing.
1948 - Taylor Woodrow were now building houses, schools and factories in England, America and Africa. On the Gold Coast, the Takoradi harbour extension started.
1950s
1953 - The Company invested in housing and property development in Canada through the purchase of Monarch Mortgage & Investments Ltd.
1954 - Taylor Woodrow were now running over 250 projects around the world. The new head office in Southall was finished. Work began on Donnington Power Station, and Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station was completed.
1960s
1960 - Taylor Woodrow was appointed as main contractor to build the New Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King at Liverpool.
1966 - The Taywood 'Pilemaster' won the Queens Award to Industry. The silent vibrationless pile driver had already been used on the Hendon motorway project, a Manchester office block and a bank in Belfast. Hong Kong's Ocean Terminal opened.
1970s
1970 - The redevelopment of London's St Katharine Docks began. It was described as 'one of the most ambitious private enterprise developments since the Great Fire'. Taylor Woodrow won 'Home of the Year' for the Sandown Bungalow which was shown at the New Homes Exhibition in Westminster.
1971 - The Company celebrated its Golden Jubilee. New projects included a multi-million pound project to ease traffic congestion at Staples Corner.
1972 - In Australia, the Garden Island Causeway part of the three-mile access link between the island and the mainland of Western Australia was completed.
1979 - Dubai Dry Dock was opened by HM The Queen.
1980s
1980 - Taylor Woodrow became a founder member of the Channel Tunnel consortium. Housing in Canada, Florida and California continued to develop.
1990s
1990 - The Company continued its international investment strategy dedicated to developing its business in housing, property and construction.
2000s
2000 - A strategic review began. Taylor Woodrow's construction business quits low return/high risk activities. Greenham Trading and Greenham Construction Materials were sold.
2001 -Taylor Woodrow launched a successful takeover for the Bryant Group to supplement the UK housing and construction business.
2002 - The year started with the successful launch of a £250m, 10 year unsecured sterling bond. Iain Napier joined as the new Chief Executive. A regional restructure saw the 'central office' move to Solihull.
2003 - In October 2003, Taylor Woodrow acquired Wilson Connolly for £499 million in what was the UK's largest housing transaction ever at the time.
2004 - The company’s transformation into a leading housebuilder was publicly acknowledged by the UK building industry when Taylor Woodrow was declared ‘Major Housebuilder Of The Year’ by Building Magazine.
2007 - Ian Smith joined Taylor Woodrow as the company's Chief Executive Officer in January 2007. Taylor Woodrow was a FTSE Top 200 company, and one of the UK's leading housing and development companies under its Bryant Homes brand. It also had significant interests in North America where it built homes in Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and Toronto, a successful and growing housing operation in Spain and a construction arm.