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Originally incorporated as a thriving land management and feu collection company in 1875, the City of Aberdeen Land Association (CALA) was the first Scottish company listed on the London Stock Market.

A century later, in 1973, Greencoat Properties (of which our current Executive Chairman, Geoff Ball, was Managing Director) acquired a 55% stake in CALA. The following year, under Geoff Ball’s direction, CALA moved into residential development in Aberdeen on land owned since 1900. This was followed by the setting-up of CALA Properties in 1976.

As CALA Homes expanded, by acquisition and organic growth, moving into Edinburgh (1978), Glasgow (1987) and into England, we sought new ways to enhance shareholder value and drive the industry forward, pioneering the residential development funding market with CALA Finance in 1985. 

During that period of growth and expansion, in 1979, a group of senior managers led by Geoff Ball acquired the Greencoat Properties’ stake in a management buy-in, one of the first of its kind.

Through strategic expansion and astute financial planning, we have grown from a Stock Market valuation of £360,000, in 1973, to a market value of £93m, which was recorded in 1999 when senior management acquired the company in the then biggest management buy-out (MBO) in Scotland.

The MBO was unique in two aspects. Management retained control and had only one outside partner, the Bank of Scotland, who also provided 10 year finance, enabling management to focus on long-term value creation. Since 1999 profits (before interest, tax and MBO costs) have grown from £13.1m to £28m in 2006*.

We recently announced that our landbank was in excess of £6.6bn turnover, secured with the help of a joint venture fund set up with the Bank of Scotland, in 2002. A year later we secured a £100m fund from the Bank of Scotland to expand CALA Finance. A further milestone was achieved in 2007 with CALA Properties’ largest deal to date, the £65m acquisition of the Brandon Centre in Motherwell.

* Before interest, tax and goodwill amoritisation.