William Leech plc was a major

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

housebuilder.

History

The company was established by William Leech, a former window cleaner in 1934 as ''William Leech (Builders) Ltd''. It bought very large landholdings in the

Cramlington Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland. It is north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. The population was 28,843 as of 2021 census data from Northumberland County Cou ...

area and was first listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

in 1976 when its name was changed to ''William Leech plc''. It achieved an output of 2,500 units in 1979. It announced a merger with Bellway in 1981 but this was called off within days: "the lifestyle of the two firms looked pretty incompatible". The company was then acquired by Beazer in 1985. The company retained its brand and Newcastle head office until Beazer itself was acquired by

Persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...

in 2001, following which both brands were phased out. The Leech Homes name was revived by Persimmon in 2005 as a brand aimed at housing for the over-55s. As of 2025, it remains registered with

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...

as a dormant company, still in the ownership of Persimmon plc.

References

Sources

* * {{Construction industry of the United Kingdom Housebuilding companies of the United Kingdom 1934 establishments in England 1985 disestablishments in England