Simonds Group buys Dennis Family Homes for $10m in move that will affect thousands of Aussies building a new house
Simonds Homes won a Master Builders Victoria award for the best display home Victoria’s south west from $250,000-$350,000 in 2022 for this Mt Duneed residence.
Homebuilding giant Simonds Group are on track to become Australia’s sixth biggest builder after a $10m buyout of Melbourne-based competitor Dennis Family Homes.
The purchase was announced to the ASX on Friday morning, though will only be finalised in March.
Simonds boss David McKeown said their purchase should be a “green shoots” recovery signal for the troubled construction sector, and that through economies of scale following the acquisition, they would be looking for ways to reduce building costs for their customers.
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Mr McKeown added that the purchase would more than double their current product portfolio, and significantly expand their reach with a 40 per cent increase in display homes.
While pledging a smooth transition for those currently building with Dennis Family Homes, he added that they were constantly working to make building a home more affordable.
“We are working through the impacts financially, but with scale comes an opportunity to be more efficient as a business overall — and that means there may be opportunities for pricing,” he said.
“By us combining two fairly large businesses, that will translate to better outcomes in terms of choice and through the economy of scale.”
David McKeown handed over the first set of keys to customers whose builds needed to be finished by other businesses after the collapse of Porter Davis homes. Picture: David Crosling.
With plans to use the acquisition to boost their presence not just in Victoria, but also interstate, the Simonds’ move could have benefits for thousands of Australians.
Mr McKeown said the next big step for consumer confidence would be an interest-rate cut, which would likely drive more affluent families to take the step into building a home — with the back half of 2025 likely to see an uptick in activity.
However he warned aspirational and first-home buyers were likely to need more than a single cut to remedy the impacts of reduced borrowing capacity.
Simonds commenced construction on 1772 new homes in the past financial year making it the nation’s 10th biggest builder, according to the Housing Industry Association’s most recent Housing 100 report.
Dennis Family Homes was Australia’s 33rd largest builder nationwide and started 474 builds in 2024. It has a significant presence in regional Victoria including in Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca, Geelong and Shepparton.
A five-bedroom Dennis Family Homes display property in Armstrong Creek.
The Dennis family will continue to operate its land development business, which has 18,000 allotments in the pipeline. It will also retain its interest in the development of commercial and retail sites.
Based on the 2024 figures, the acquisition makes Simonds Australia’s sixth biggest builder. However, the ASX announcement noted that there were about 300 homes under construction by Dennis at the time of the deal, and a further 500 in their “forward order book”.
Simonds have forecast a $200m boost to their revenue in the 2026 financial year.
“For anyone following the trials and tribulations of the construction sector for the past few years, we are hoping people will be seeing this as a green shoot showing our confidence,” Mr McKeown said.
Industry sources have suggested a handful of other builders are considering acquisitions in Victoria.
A Simonds Group display home in Mt Duneed in 2022.
Metricon, Australia’s biggest home builder, sold a controlling stake in its business to Japan-based Sumitomo Forestry last year.
Mr McKeown acknowledged that increasing the size of Simonds Group could make it a target for foreign investment, but noted the firm was for now focusing on its acquisition of Dennis Family Homes.
HIA Victorian executive director Keith Ryan said the move was “not a massive surprise” and there was some sense in Victorian builders looking to consolidate in the current climate.
“But this shows their willingness to invest in the future, and you don’t do that if you don’t have confidence there is a future,” Mr Ryan said.
“So this is clearly a signal for confidence.”
A Dennis Family Homes display in Wollert.
Mr Ryan added that builders around the state were reporting significant foot traffic, however most of the prospective buyers appeared to be waiting for a signal to boost their confidence before signing up.
Simonds Group has been operating for more than 75 years after being founded by Gary Simonds — who built the firm’s first home for his mum and still visits their offices today.
It was listed on the ASX in 2014.
Dennis Family Homes started operations in 1982 and has built more than 20,000 homes, most in Victoria.
The firm primarily focuses on stand-alone houses, but also has a presence in medium-density and social housing construction, which Mr McKeown said would complement the Simonds business well.
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