CUSPY on OTC Markets Group

Countryside Properties

British housebuilding company

Countryside Partnerships plc, formerly Countryside Properties plc, is a UK housebuilding and urban regeneration company, operating mainly in London and the South East of England, but with a presence in the North West of England. Until 2022, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. In November 2022, Vistry Group acquired Countryside Partnerships for £1.27 billion.² Its shares trade on OTC Markets Group under the symbol CUSPY.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

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Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1958Founded¹

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TickerCUSPY on OTC Markets Group¹
Industryhouse-building¹
HeadquartersBrentwood¹
Websitewww.countryside-properties.com

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The story

Foundation and initial flotation

The housebuilding business that became Countryside Properties was founded in 1958 by Alan Cherry CBE, who remained its chairman until his death in January 2010. His eldest son, Graham Cherry, was appointed to the board in 1984 and was chief executive from 1996; his youngest son Richard Cherry was appointed to the board in 1986 and was appointed deputy chairman in 2005.

Alan Cherry, a chartered surveyor, began his career as an estate agent and was one of the founding partners of Bairstow Eves. In 1959, the four Bairstow partners formed Copthorn as a development business, with Alan Cherry running it part-time. One of the Bairstow clients was another developer, Countryside Properties, formed in 1958 by Solomon 'Bob' Bobroff, and in the late 1960s the two concerns began to work together. In 1972 Countryside acquired Copthorn and, with Bobroff as chairman and Alan Cherry as a joint managing director, Countryside was floated on the London Stock Exchange.

Return to private status

The flotation was closely followed by a recession and in 1975 Countryside passed its final dividend. Bobroff had resigned in 1974, and the subsequent expansion was under the sole direction of Alan Cherry. He emphasised the importance of design and marketing and took the company into a series of very large sites, e.g. Chelmer Village and Chatham Maritime. In 2005, Alan Cherry sought to take the company private. A prominent investor, Paul Kemsley and Joe Lewis's Rock Properties, increased its stake to 28.5%, forcing Cherry to pay more for the company. Countryside was bought out by Copthorn Holdings Ltd, which was then jointly owned by the Cherry family and the Bank of Scotland, part of Lloyds Banking Group.

The company achieved record profits in the following two years, amounting to £27 million on a turnover of £430 million in the year ended September 2007.

However, the Great Recession affected housebuilders acutely, and the company recorded a loss of £22 million on sales of £312 million in the year to September 2008. Under a refinancing deal in October 2009, Lloyds took control of the company.

In 2013, Oaktree Capital Management purchased a majority share in the company, making a further capital injection. The Cherry family retain a minority stake, and Lloyds provided five-year loan facilities. As of October 2014, former Keepmoat chief executive Ian Sutcliffe became the new executive chairman. In 2014 Oaktree acquired luxury home developer Millgate and merged it with Countryside, planning to double the company's size.

Following this, the company rebranded as Countryside rather than Countryside Properties, adopting the slogan ‘Places People Love’.

In 2015, Countryside announced further changes to its board of directors. David Howell, previously a non-executive director, became chairman, whilst Ian Sutcliffe assumed the role of group chief executive officer. Graham Cherry became CEO new homes and communities, whilst Richard Cherry became CEO partnerships.

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Second flotation

In February 2016 the company was the subject of an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

In November 2019, Ian Sutcliffe announced he was stepping down as CEO to be replaced by Ian McPherson from 1 January 2020. In January 2022, McPherson was ousted after disappointing trading figures for the first three months of the financial year to December 2021 showed operating profit more than halved at £28m from £60m previously, on revenue down 28% to £429m. Peter Lee, a partner at US investment firm Browning West, one of Countryside’s largest shareholders, joined the board as non-executive director; Browning West had previously called for Countryside to be split into two parts to allow its Partnership business to thrive.

The company changed its name from Countryside Properties to Countryside Partnerships in January 2022.

in May 2022, Countryside was the target of a takeover bid by Inclusive Capital Partners (In-Cap), a San Francisco-based hedge fund. The Countryside board rejected this bid, but Browning West, which holds 15.3% of Countryside's shares, pressed the board to listen to offers, and, on 13 June, the board relented. The company's non-executive chairman, John Martin, quit a month later.

Vistry takeover

In September 2022, UK homebuilder Vistry Group offered a £1.24 billion cash and shares deal to acquire Countryside. The deal, backed by both boards and by five major shareholders at Countryside holding 39% of the company, will create one of the UK's biggest home builders with revenue of over £3bn. Countryside shareholders would receive 0.255 of a Vistry share for each of their shares plus 60p; if approved, the deal would be completed in early 2023. Vistry CEO Greg Fitzgerald said the Countryside brand would be retained if the takeover was approved by shareholders. In October 2022, Vistry published a timetable for the merger which was expected to complete on 11 November 2022. The transaction was approved by the High Court on 10 November 2022, so allowing the transaction to complete the following day.

From Wikipedia’s article on Countryside Partnerships, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Controversies and legal

Controversies

Ground rent

In 2017, it was reported that Countryside was selling properties with doubling Ground rent terms written into the leasehold contracts of purchasers, such terms are considered by mortgage lenders such as Nationwide Building Society to be "unfair" and ones that they would be unwilling to lend on. In light of increasing media coverage, Countryside signalled it would attempt to 'buy back' freeholds and amend terms for some leaseholders affected by 10 year doubling ground rents, by linking increases to Retail price index. Subsequently, the government has turned attention to what it views as abuse of the Leasehold system and announced a raft of measures, including capping future ground rents at zero for future new build homes.

Cladding

In 2018, following the Grenfell Tower fire, a fire service investigation deemed the cladding unsafe on the NV Buildings in Salford Quays. The buildings were developed in 2004 by Countryside and built by Carillion, which had gone into liquidation in January 2018. Householders were told the costs to replace the cladding would have to be met by them. So far, Countryside has not said whether it will pay, although developers Taylor Wimpey and Barratt have done so elsewhere on "moral" grounds, despite not being legally required to. A structural engineer, contracted by residents, reviewed the buildings in June 2018. The report concluded that the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and gaps in fire breaks on external walls meant the development may not have complied with building regulations when built. Countryside said NV Buildings received all relevant approvals when Carillion completed the project. Countryside was undertaking a "comprehensive review" of the building's design and construction. In 2019, the developer billed leaseholders to cover the £2.6m cost of replacing the cladding, with costs ranging from £12,000 to £34,000.