Taylor Wimpey warned as Elliott builds up stake

The board of Taylor Wimpey has been put on alert after it emerged that an activist investor was building a stake. Elliott Advisors, the American hedge fund that has been lobbying for board changes at GlaxoSmithKline, has built a small stake. The Betaville blog, which first reported that Elliott had built a stake in Taylor Wimpey, said that the investor had done so with a view to encouraging “corporate activity”, which may include a takeover. The housebuilder, one of Britain’s largest, operates from 23 regional businesses in the UK and is expected to build around 14,000 homes this year, with an operating profit of £820m. The activist could call for Taylor Woodrow to wind down its non-core business in Spain, boost margins and clamp down on fundraising for land purchases. Elliott made a big bet on the housing market this year when it teamed up with Jeff Fairburn, the former boss of Persimmon, to buy Avant Homes Group. Avant builds about 2,000 homes a year from the Midlands to Scotland. The Times (£) To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews