George Wimpey
This photograph shows George Wimpey’s original stone working office in Grove Yard, Hammersmith. George Wimpey & Company was soon working on major building and road projects throughout London.
From streets to stadiums
George Wimpey’s now well-regarded family business was responsible for building the 80,000 seat White City Stadium, which hosted most of the events for that year’s Olympic Games as well as the Franco-British Exhibition. The stadium was opened by King Edward VII.
A new name. A new owner
Following the death of George Wimpey, the Wimpey family sold the company to Godfrey Way Mitchell (later Sir Godfrey Mitchell) in 1919. He renamed the business George Wimpey & Co Ltd.
The birth of Taylor Woodrow
Just three years later, in Blackpool, a 16-year-old entrepreneur called Frank Taylor founded his own construction business. Borrowing money from his uncle Jack Woodrow, to build two houses, he called his business Taylor, Woodrow Ltd.
A competitor comes to town
Frank Taylor moved to London where, before the outbreak of the Second World War, his business was building more than 1,000 homes a year.
Taylor Wimpey goes public
George Wimpey & Co Ltd was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1934. That same year the company built 1,370 homes.
Taylor Woodrow Construction is formed
Frank Taylor’s new company focused on contracts relating to the war effort, such as building airfields, sea defences and factories. This photograph shows the familiar figure of Winston Churchill visiting the Mulberry Harbour construction site.
Two worlds collide
George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow both worked on the construction of London airport – now Heathrow Airport.
Post-war priorities
In the immediate post-war years George Wimpey was commissioned to build homes for local authorities. By the 1950s the business was building 18,000 of these a year. In 1953 George Wimpey began building homes for private sale again.
Boosts for both businesses
While George Wimpey’s business was finishing its first major project in Canada – The Blackwood Hodge offices and showrooms in Toronto – Taylor Woodrow Construction was the civil engineering contractor on Calder Hall, the first nuclear power station in the world to produce electricity for domestic use. Calder Hall was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.
Taylor Woodrow does up the docks
Taylor Woodrow started to build St Katherine's Dock in 1970, one of the most ambitious private urban developments ever undertaken in London. The Queen visited the development in 1974.
George Wimpey reaches number one
In 1972 George Wimpey builds about 12,500 private sale homes. As this was three times as many as its nearest competitor, George Wimpey becomes the largest home builder in the country, selling 106,440 homes during the 1970s.
Arise Sir Frank Taylor
Frank Taylor receives a knighthood in March 1974. The photo shows him outside Buckingham Palace with his wife and daughter. He would be invested for his services to the UK as Lord Taylor of Hadfield in 1982.
George Wimpey invests stateside
George Wimpey buys Morrison Homes in San Francisco. Although based in the county, it expands its operations into cities across the United States, including Orlando, Phoenix and Houston.
The Channel Tunnel connection
George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow work together again on the construction of the Channel Tunnel. Taylor Woodrow Construction is the civil engineering contractor while George Wimpey is a founder member of the project consortium.
George Wimpey swaps businesses
George Wimpey swaps its construction and minerals businesses for McLean Homes, the home-building arm of Tarmac Plc.
Celebration in Florida
George Wimpey’s Morrison Homes is one of five construction companies to start work on Celebration, a 4,900-acre town located near Walt Disney World Resort. The development is an innovative combination of architecture, education, health and technology.
Millennium regeneration
Taylor Woodrow begins building Greenwich Millennium Village on the banks of the River Thames and south of the O2 dome complex. The low-energy development is the first of the government's sustainable millennium communities.
New buys for the new century
In 2001 Taylor Woodrow buys the Bryant Group. House are now sold as 'Bryant Homes by Taylor Woodrow'. In the same year, George Wimpey buys McAlpine Homes, integrating McAlpine Homes, McLean Homes and George Wimpey into a single homebuilding business in the UK. In the US Morrisons bought and integrated Richardson Homes.
Both businesses continue to grow
To give Taylor Woodrow a greater presence in the north of England, it acquires Wilson Connolly. At the time, this was the largest acquisition in the home building industry. Meanwhile, George Wimpey begins building Staiths in Gateshead. The development was designed in collaboration with Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway. The homes use a variety of colourful external materials and design features and are grouped around communal 'pocket parks'.
Major award for Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow is awarded the prestigious Building For Life Gold Standard for its work on Highgate in Durham. Building for Life is a collaboration between four different organisations – the Design Council, Design for Homes, Home Builders Federation and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).
A momentous merger
George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow merge to form Taylor Wimpey. At the time the combined output of both companies was over 20,000 homes a year.
Planning for the future
Taylor Woodrow Construction is sold to Vinci, leaving Taylor Wimpey to focus on home building.
Considerate Constructors Award
Taylor Wimpey, one of three developers in a consortium, is given a Gold Award by the Considerate Constructors Scheme for the second year running. The award relates to the partnership between the Lawley Village Developer Group and Birse Civils for the delivery of primary infrastructure works.
The largest settlement in South Cambridgeshire
Cambourne Fitness and Sports Centre, which is fully funded by Taylor Wimpey, opens in December 2011, the same year that planning consent is granted for the final phase of the Cambourne development (950 new homes). We began building this last phase in July 2012. Also in 2011, we exit North America by selling Taylor Morrison in the US and Monarch in Canada, and Rochdale Development Agency selects us as preferred developer.
Five stars and Olympic gold
2012 was the first time Taylor Wimpey is ranked as a five-star builder by the independent Home Builders Federation. We’ve received the same ranking every year since. Also, in the year that the Summer Olympics were hosted in London, Taylor Wimpey, and partner L&Q, are selected by the London Legacy Development Corporation to build Chobham Manor, the first of five residential developments on the site of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Two meaningful memberships
In 2013 we gain two significant memberships: the Home and Communities Agency's second Developer Partner Panel and the Greater London Authority's London Development Panel. These panels give public sector organisations a shortlist of 'pre-qualified' developers to make delivery of new homes on public land more efficient. In this same year we open our Sandbrook View showhome, the first development we successfully tendered for as a member of the original Developer Partner Panel.
Sustainability recognition
We are proud to be awarded twice in 2014 for our sustainability. Our Cambourne development in Cambridgeshire is named Best Low or Zero Carbon Initiative at the Housebuilder Awards and our City Mills development in London wins Best Regeneration Project at the National Housing Awards.
63 quality awards
In 2015 63 of our Site Managers receive Quality Awards in the NHBC’s annual Pride in the Job Awards 2015. A further 20 also achieve a Seal of Excellence Award and three of them are named Regional Winners.
Giving back to our communities
During 2016 we donate and fundraise over £875k for registered charities. In addition, a further c.£159k was donated to other organisations, sponsoring community events, local sports teams, social clubs and many other initiatives.
Improving our customer journeys
During 2017 we introduce an online Customer Portal which guides customers through the buying of their new home. It also provides a forum for two-way communication as the building and sales processes are progressed.
Happy staff, happy customers
During 2018 we are particularly delighted to be recognised as one of the UK’s top 10 employers by Glassdoor, as rated by our employees. Once again, we’re the only commercial housebuilder to make the list.