Tulloch reveals plans for £80m site

TULLOCH Homes has completed a multi-million pound land deal in Inverness after enjoying its best nine months since 2008.

The Inver ness-based housebuilder has signalled its confidence in the prospects for the market by acquiring a parcel of land on which it could build around 400 homes. The company has plans for a development that would cost £80 million to build and underpin hundreds of Highland jobs for years.

Chief executive George Fraser said the company made the move following an “excellent” revival in the house sales market in the area. Following a 20% increase in sales in the last nine months compared with the same period last year, Tulloch believes housebuilders are set to capitalise on significant pent up demand for homes.

“The Scottish Government’s new Help to Buy scheme could be a major boost if it generates the same success as the UK Government one has done south of the border,” said Mr Fraser. “It has boosted confidence in the housebuilding industry by assisting buyers deterred by high deposits asked by mortgage lenders.”

Mr Fraser said t he purchase of the land, from the McGinniss Group, represented a major commitment to the Inverness market from the US financiers that acquired a 40% stake in Tulloch Homes last year.

Goldman Sachs Bank and the TPG private equity business acquired the holding through the Project Lundy transaction under which they bought a £1.2bn portfolio of loans from Lloyds Banking Group for an undisclosed sum. These were largely made by HBOS before it was taken over by Lloyds.