After sudden departure from board of Berkeley Group, Pidgley Jr plans to follow father onto stock market.
Tony Pidgley Jr has held talks with City backers about the possible flotation of his housebuilding company, it was revealed this week.

Pidgley Jr set up Cadenza five months after quitting the main board of his father's company, Berkeley Group, last April.

He confirmed this week that he had held discussions with brokers about a possible float after 2007. The move would result in him following Tony Pidgley Sr, who floated Berkeley in 1985, onto the stock market.

Pidgley Jr said: "The intention is not to run a small private company. We want to grow the company into a key force in urban regeneration.

"We're trying to set ourselves up to ensure that we're attractive to institutional investors at some point in our growth cycle – but it is too early to say at when that will be."

Pidgley said taking Cadenza public was a goal that would be likely to take five to 10 years.

We want the company to grow into a key force in urban regeneration

Tony Pidgley Jr

Cadenza has five schemes in the pipeline, with a development of 15 units at Clerkenwell, central London, expected to be ready this summer. The firm also has schemes in Bristol, Leicester, the City and Lingfield in Surrey, ranging in size from 10 to 400 units.

Cadenza is targeting city-centre brownfield developments for the middle range of buyers. Pidgley said: "Many current developments are too investor-market-led. Cadenza will be offering local buyers an opportunity to buy into affordable city-centre developments that have style."

Cadenza has seven staff and Pidgley has tried to keep the operation as lean as possible. Pidgley, former managing director at Berkeley Homes, said: "We're trying to be more like a commercial developer and will outsource everything else. Our expertise is in acquiring land, creating and adding value, and then we will systematically involve other parties."

Pidgley has already held talks with Laing Construction and O'Rourke, both owned by Irish businessman Ray O'Rourke. Cadenza is also using architects such as Assael, Hamilton Associates and Colwyn Foulkes.

Cadenza managing director Darryl Flay, formerly of Berkeley Homes, said: "This gives us flexibility and fresh ideas and increases the number of schemes a company of our size can do at one time. Our formula can be applied to two or 400 units."