Buyers circling Taylor Wimpey overseas arm

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is weighing up approaches from "several" buyers for its North American arm as it shifts focus towards the UK market.

The potential purchasers are understood to include US trade buyers and private-equity firms, with Taylor Wimpey looking to sell its US and Canadian businesses by the middle of next year.

The company was formed through a £6 billion merger in 2007 but the deal left it saddled with debt, and it was hit by collapsing house prices on both sides of the Atlantic.

Annual profits will be ahead of market hopes, helped by slashing build costs and improved trading in the US, where it expects a "strong recovery".