Burrington Estates, the Exeter-based developer, has received an investment of £15.5m from BGF to support its ambitious growth plans.
Founded in 2013 by Mark Edworthy and Paul Scantlebury, Burrington Estates has grown into a thriving business with a turnover of £70m last year. It has completed more than 400 homes in the South West during the past five years and its current portfolio of sites has a GDV of £300m. With investment from BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor, Burrington Estates will be able to move into the next phase of growth and aims to treble its turnover in the next five years.
Burrington Estates is known for its high quality developments in the South West with a strong focus on creating communities and improving quality of life for its customers. The business is ideally positioned to capitalise on opportunities in the market including the surge in the number of people moving out of cities in the wake of the pandemic, with the South West in particular becoming a hotspot. Burrington Estates has seen a 450% rise in enquiries across Devon.
From the £15.5m investment, £13.5m will support the expansion of Burrington’s New Homes business in the South West and Midlands. David Jervis, previously Managing Director of Spitfire Bespoke Homes, has been appointed to run the Midlands division. Land has already been secured in locations including Deddington in Oxfordshire and Binfield in Berkshire, where the developer seeks to repeat the success of earlier developments across Devon and Cornwall. The additional £2m investment will boost the commercial side of the business.
Mark Edworthy, Co-Founder of Burrington Estates said: “We are delighted to have BGF on board as funding partner as they were genuinely interested in the long-term growth of the business and there is a natural synergy between our teams. BGF’s investment and strategic insight will be crucial in our move to take the business to the next level. Burrington Estates is a strong brand that is already established in the South West and we want to replicate that in the Midlands. We have ambitious plans for growth in all areas of the business coupled with a strong pipeline of land, so it is realistic that we will be able to deliver 600 homes per annum within five years.”
The Burrington Estates team includes property industry heavyweight Peter Andrew, who was appointed Non-Executive Chairman in 2016 and is now Executive Chair and is former Deputy Chairman of the Home Builders Federation (HBF). He has played a key role in driving the business forward and credits the company culture and can-do attitude as fundamental to this success.
Peter Andrew, Chairman of Burrington Estates said: “This is an excellent step forward to support the future growth of Burrington Estates. Our focus is place and community first and our point of difference is our approach to design, build and customer service. This investment will support us in creating 21st century homes that are fully connected and designed with the customer in mind and how they will use their homes in the future.”
James Skade, BGF investor, said: “Burrington Estates is a really exciting investment for BGF – as a progressive and forward-thinking property developer, both the residential and commercial divisions are bringing a fresh approach to the sector and have impressive plans for growth. We look forward to being part of that journey.”
The deal was led by James Skade, Hannah Waters and Alex Garfitt from BGF.
The advisors to the transaction were:
- BGF: Tim Roberts, Isaac Paine, Burges Salmon (Legal). Tom Ayerst, Matt Tomlinson, PwC (Financial Due Diligence).Dave Taylor, Paul Halliday, PwC (Tax),
- Burrington Estates: Andrew Tubb, Marion Bennett, Birketts (Legal). Mark Champion, Isca Ventures (Corporate Finance).
