Landsea Homes, the 35th largest company on the 2023 BUILDER 100 list, expanded into its seventh home building market with the acquisition of Colorado-based Richfield Homes.
“We are very excited about this transaction, as it provides Landsea with a unique opportunity to establish a presence in one of the best housing markets in the country,” John Ho, CEO of Landsea Homes said in a news release announcing the deal. “This is another step forward in our ongoing plans to create communities in desirable locations across the United States and provide high-quality homes where residents can enjoy ‘Living in their Element.’”
Mike Forsum, chief operating officer for Landsea Homes, told BUILDER the “fundamentals of the Colorado market are a great fit for a company like Landsea Homes.”
“With relatively high barriers to entry, it allows us to take advantage of our skill set around entitlements and land development, which we have honed during our time operating in California,” Forsum said. “[Richfield Homes] aligns closely with ours, especially in culture and workforce, and they are a very appropriate size for this time and place in the market."
Lisa Wiebelhaus, most recently a managing partner with Richfield Homes, has been named the president of the new Landsea Homes Colorado division. Prior to joining Richfield Homes, she worked for 12 years as the vice president of sales for Colorado-based Richmond American Homes. In a news release announcing the deal, Wielbelhaus highlighted Landsea’s “exceptional reputation” for innovation and its commitment to customer service.
“We are very pleased to welcome Lisa to the Landsea Homes senior management family,” Ho said. “With nearly two decades of home building experience in Colorado, she has a wealth of strategic insight, strong management skills, and deep local roots that will help us successfully launch this new division.”
JTW Advisors LLC served as the sell-side mergers and acquisitions advisor to Richfield Homes.
Will Edgington and Serge Goldberg founded Richfield Homes in 2012 after previously running a home building business in Texas. Over the trailing 12 months, Richfield Homes closed 112 homes across six communities, generating revenues of over $68 million, according to JTW Advisors.
Colorado represents the seventh operating market for Landsea Homes, joining Arizona, Florida, the New York metro, northern California, southern California, and Texas.
“We are just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of the potential that we see in Colorado,” Forsum said. “When we’ve entered a new market (i.e. Arizona, Texas, or Florida), our priority is to create scale that makes us a top 10 home builder.”
The calendar has been transformative for Landsea Homes, with the home builder relocating its corporate headquarters from California to Dallas. Since the relocation, Landsea Homes purchased 84 finished lots in the Lariat master-planned community in Liberty Hill, Texas, 38 homesites for attached townhomes in the Avery Centre master-planned community in Round Rock, Texas, and announced plans to develop 880 single-family homes at the Freedom at Anthem community in Kyle, Texas.
“We continue to be highly interested in and active in mergers and acquisitions and where we operate, and beyond,” Forsum said. “That is an important part of our ongoing growth strategy.”
