Century Homes sells to Kingspan

Ireland-based Kingspan Group plc has bought timber frame manufacturer Century Homes for €98m.

Century Homes chief executive officer Gerry McCaughey said the deal underlines that timber frame homes are here to stay and are the future of Irish construction.

He added: "It has always been my dream to grow Century Homes into the largest and best timber frame company in the world, and as a result of this deal that dream can become a reality."

The senior management of Century Homes will work alongside the Kingspan management team in developing Kingspan's offsite division in the UK and Irish off-site construction market.

Mr McCaughey said that when Century Homes began trading in 1990, timber frame accounted for just 1% of the total new houses in Ireland. Today it accounts for 25% and Mr McCaughey believes it is just a question of time before more than 50% of Irish house starts are timber frame.

Gene Murtagh, chief executive officer at Kingspan said Century Homes has almost single-handedly pioneered modern methods of construction in the Irish, and more recently UK residential markets.

And he said the acquisition, when combined with Kingspan's existing off-site operations, will help the company become a leading player in the off-site low energy home construction market in the UK and Ireland.