Galliford Try

Galliford Try plc is a British construction company headquartered in London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is currently a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

The Company was created in 2000 through a merger of Try Group plc, founded by WS Try in 1908 in London, and Galliford plc.

Galliford’s roots date back to 1916, but the steamroller hire business was closed down during the Second War. Thomas Galliford’s four sons later re-formed the business and Galliford & Sons was incorporated in 1952. Galliford developed primarily as a civil engineering business but it entered the private housing market in 1973 with the acquisition of Crabb Curtis. The housing contribution was late extended through Stamford Homes and, in 1998, the acquisition of Midas Homes, by which time the group was building around 500 houses a year.

Try operated as a general contractor until the early 1970s, when Try Homes was formed. Despite acquisitions, housing remained on a relatively small scale, peaking at around 200 units a year in the early 1990s.