Taylor Wimpey set for new cash chase

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey today launched a

It hopes to raise the funds through a placing and open offer of shares to reduce its £1.53 billion debt mountain. The share offer is priced at 25p each, well below last night's closing price of 48 1/4p. The shares today fell 10 1/2p to 37 3/4p.

Chief executive Peter Redfern said he had "taken the difficult decisions necessary to protect the inherent value in the group".

He claims the firm will now be "in a strong position to return to profitability", putting it "at the forefront of any housing recovery".

It came almost a year after the firm — formed through the merger of George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow in 2007 — was forced to admit a £500 million fundraiser had collapsed just two days after it was announced.

The disaster cost finance director Peter Johnson his job and forced Redfern to turn his attention to renegotiating terms with the firm's bankers to save it from collapse.

It is now hopeful it has turned a corner, having last month struck a deal with its banks.