NORTH-East housebuilder Yuill Homes last night confirmed it had been acquired by an Irish-based property developer for an undisclosed sum.

Family-run company Yuill, which employs 200 people across the region, has been bought by Taggart Homes.

Despite the change of ownership, Yuill said last night that there were no plans to relocate from its Hartlepool base and the management team would remain intact.

The jobs of its 200 workers are also secure, the company said.

Neither party would release figures, only saying the deal was "substantial".

Phillip Yuill, former chairman and son of the company's founder Cecil Yuill, said: "The acquisition of Yuill Homes by Taggart Holdings offers the company an outstanding opportunity to move forward in the UK housing market.

"My family and I are extremely grateful to all of our employees in taking the company to where it is today, and wish them all even greater success in the future."

Yuill, which was founded almost 80 years ago and has an annual turnover of almost £60m, builds within the North-East and has ten ongoing developments.

Michael Taggart, director of Taggart Holdings, said: "This significant acquisition is in line with our strategy to maintain the growth and momentum of our operations in Taggart Holdings' core markets of Ireland and the UK.

"It provides us with increased presence in the North of England, complements the group's existing Manchester- based operations and offers us a platform to take advantage of, what we believe will be, a strong housing market in the UK over the next number of years.

"Yuill represents an excellent corporate and cultural fit with Taggart and we are delighted to be gaining access to a high quality team led by David McNaught," he added.

Yuill has building sites in Redcar, east Cleveland; Seaham, County Durham; Nunthorpe, near Middlesbrough, and North-allerton, in North Yorkshire. It has also started building at Willington and Consett in County Durham.

The move was financed by Bank of Scotland (Ireland), and Yuill was advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Teesside law firm The Endeavour Partnership and Howarth Clarke Whitehall.