10 Facts About Taylor Woodrow

Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain.

Frank Taylor Woodrow was working in the family fruit wholesaling business in Blackpool when, in 1921, at the age of 16, he persuaded his father that he could build a house for them to live in.

In 1937, Taylor Woodrow Construction was formed and, after a modest start, the company was engaged in defence work.

For six years Taylor Woodrow built military camps, airfields and factories culminating in work on the Mulberry harbour units.

Later moves were into west and South Africa and, in the 1950s, Taylor Woodrow expanded into Australia, Canada and, most important of all, the middle east.

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However, with Frank Taylor Woodrow running an international construction business, yet still controlling site purchases himself, Taywood Homes never benefited from the post-war housing boom; indeed, housing sales actually declined, and at the beginning, of the 1980s Taywood Homes was still only building around 500 to 600 houses a year.

Taylor Woodrow had entered the commercial property market in 1964, its flagship project being the St Katharine Docks complex.

In January 2001, Taylor Woodrow intervened in the proposed merger of Bryant–Beazer, buying Bryant for £632 million in cash and shares.

Taylor Woodrow provided the new chairman and finance director, while the chief executive and the United Kingdom managing director came from Wimpey.

Today Taylor Woodrow Construction is a UK-based civil engineering contractor, one of four operating divisions of Vinci Construction UK.