UK housebuilders in merger talks

UK housebuilders George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow are understood to be in talks over a £5bn (€7.4bn) merger in a deal that would catapult the new group into the FTSE 100 Index, reports reveal today.

The two firms are believed to be in the final stage of negotiations over a tie-up, which would create a housebuilding giant with operations in Britain and the US producing about 30,000 houses a year.