Devonshire Homes Limited, a housebuilding company with development sites across Devon, Somerset, and Cornwall, is pursuing a last-ditch effort to stabilize its finances by lodging a Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator. This formal move grants the company a 10-business-day period in which it can seek potential solutions such as securing external investment or selling assets without immediate pressure to pay creditors.
The company, which operates developments in Ilfracombe, Bideford, Yelland, Bovey Tracey, Wincanton, Mabe, and Penzance, has reported financial losses in its most recent accounts, following a previous year that saw over £1.2 million in pre-tax profits. The primary cause of the downturn was a costly venture into building architect-designed, timber-framed bespoke homes—outside of Devonshire Homes’ usual construction strategy.
According to the parent company, London & Devonshire Trust Limited, the bespoke development was partly completed before acquisition but significantly underestimated building costs. “The group had not built such houses before and significantly underestimated the build costs to build the designs,” the accounts reveal. This project resulted in a substantial loss of over £1.2 million categorized as exceptional items, and the company affirmed that it would not pursue similar non-core developments in the future.
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Additionally, the accounts disclose that Devonshire Homes was reliant on a covenant breach waiver from Lloyds Bank, expected by December 2025. The waiver depended on the bank’s satisfaction with the directors' efforts to restructure the business and achieve satisfactory trading performance—conditions that were not guaranteed.
Notably, former Conservative MP for Wells, David Heathcoat-Amory, serves as a non-executive director at Devonshire Homes, having previously held the chairman position as recorded in last year’s accounts.
The Notice of Intent was filed on June 17, 2026, and while the case remains active, no further documentation has been made publicly available. Devonshire Homes did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication.