Last updated 25 January 2023
Bloor Holdings
Derbyshire-based Bloor Holdings is one of the largest privately owned housebuilders in the UK with its headquarters at Swadlincote in Derbyshire. Formed over 50 years ago, it builds over 3,200 homes annually and is managed through seven regional companies, covering England and Wales.
As well as the housebuilding business, Bloor Homes, the parent group, Bloor Holdings also owns the British motorcycle company, Triumph Group and a plant hire business, Pickerings Plant. Led by chairman John Bloor, the group has a turnover of £2.2 billion.
Financials
In the year to June 2022, turnover at Bloor’s housebuilding division increased to £1,367.1 million (2021: £1,254.4 million) and operating profits leapt to £329.3 million (2021: £266.9 million).
After a fall in the previous year, turnover rebounded strongly at the wider Bloor Holdings, hitting £2,207.2 million (2021: £1,921.3 million) and operating profits reached £440.3 million (2021: £338.7 million). At a pre-tax level, profits ballooned to £429.9 million (2021: £326.6 million).
At June 2022, the group had total net assets of £1,811.3 million (2021: £1,452.9 billion). At the housebuilding division, net assets surged to £1,127.6 million (2020: £914.2 million).
To view the financials for Bloor Holdings, visit Companies House and use Company ID 2080245.
Housebuilding
In addition to its head office in Derbyshire, Bloor Homes operates through a series of regional businesses covering the Eastern region, Exeter, the East Midlands, the Midlands, the North West, South Midlands, South West, Southern and Western regions.
Bloor has pushed through an efficiency drive involving strict construction and specification controls, use of standard house types and re-planning of sites to build more detached homes, as well as group procurement initiatives.
Major developments that the group have underway include 350 homes at Elsenham in Bishops Stortford (Project ID: 21502499) and 605 homes in the Money Hill development at Ashby-De-La-Zouch, Leicestershire (Project ID: 22180853).
In the year to June 20212, completions rebounded to 4,241 homes (2021: 4,075 units). The group stopped disclosing an average selling price in 2020.
Glenigan Data
Glenigan’s data shows that in the 2022 calendar year, Bloor Homes made 26 detailed planning applications (2021: 46). The total number of units in these applications was 4,748 units (2021: 6,816 units) and Bloor slipped to seventh place ranked in Glenigan’s ranking of the top 10 housebuilders by planning activity (2021: Sixth).
Conclusion: Slowing market?
In 2019, Bloor became the UK’s first £1 billion turnover privately owned housebuilding business and after a brief retreat, this position has been strengthened but a fall in the planning pipeline may augur change.
The focus remains on homes. In 2022 all of the homes in Bloor’s planning pipeline were again some form of house (2021: 99% houses/1% flats). This shift came as the group looks to build out larger schemes. Bloor’s annual planning pipeline shrunk by 28% between 2017 and 2019 according to Glenigan’s data. There was growth in the two subsequent years driven by proposals for larger developments but in 2022 the number of units in detailed planning applications by Bloor slumped by 30%.
This fall came despite the group continuing to seek approval for larger schemes. In 2013, the average scheme in Bloor’s planning pipeline contained 100 units. This measure doubled over the next few years only to fall back in 2021 but in the most recent year there was a rebound with the average planning application containing 182 units (2021: 148 units).
Major developments that Bloor sought planning approval for in 2022 included plans for 850 homes at Normandy Fields in Hinckley, Leicestershire (Project ID: 15093042) and 292 units at Etruscan Square in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire (Project ID: 22059381).
Like every other area of the construction industry, the rising cost of materials and skills remain an issue. Bloor increased the number of directly employed housebuilding staff by 20% between 2016 and 2018 but in 2021 there was a cut of 10%. In 2022, the average number of staff at the housebuilding operation edged up to 1,184 people (2021: 1,146 people).
A shorter landbank will benefit margins, as will the implementation of the National Planning Policy Framework, but uncertainty in the wider economy and expected falls in house prices may limit growth at the housebuilding operation and operating profit margins may well have peaked in 2022 at 24.1% (2021: 21.2%).
Elsewhere, the plant hire operation Pickerings, which is also focused on the construction industry, continues to perform strongly with turnover rising to £65.4 million (2021: £53.7 million) and producing an operating profit of £19.9 million (2021: 16.3 million). The Triumph motorcycle business had previously weighed on traded in the red in 2022 but now makes a significant contribution to the group. In 2022, turnover rose to £774.7 million (2021: £613.2 million) and operating profits hit £891.1 million (2021: £55.5 million).
Overall, the group remains financially strong and cash at bank and in hand continues to strengthen significantly and in 2022 reached £307.3 million (2021: £234.5 million).
Bloor is comfortably the UK’s largest privately owned housebuilder and there is little sign of this changing, certainly under the current ownership, but further revenue growth may be challenged in the short term.
How to win work with Bloor Homes
Bloor Homes is accredited to a number of trade bodies, such as the National House-Building Council, and is also a member of the Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) Forum. Bloor uses SSIP approach to H&S pre-qualification and works with SMS Worksafe.
Bloor puts a strong focus on conservation on its sites with an emphasis on the preservation of wildlife and natural features. The group’s architects aim to create interesting and imaginative layouts with a high specification. It also provides a range of finishes for kitchens, bathrooms and en-suite facilities. The firm aims to combine traditional building materials with modern methods to reduce maintenance.
All procurement is undertaken by the group’s local offices. Details on the group’s supply chain can be read here.
Key Bloor Homes Procurement Contacts include:
Design and technical director at Bloor Homes – Gary Male
Tel: 01530-270100
Design and technical director at Bloor Homes – Geoff Hibbert
Tel: 01530-270100
Group category manager at Bloor Homes – Lee Gaskin
Tel: 01530-270100