An Edinburgh-based housebuilder with roots in 1875, building higher-end homes in Scotland and across England under the Cala name.
Cala Homes builds new houses and apartments, and calls itself the UK's most upmarket major homebuilder. Its own website lists five regions: the Cotswolds, East of England, South East England, South West England and Scotland. An older Gradcracker profile instead lists Scotland, the Midlands and South East England, so the map has changed over time. In 2023 the group also bought Taylor Lane Timber Frame, a specialist in timber-frame building, according to Wikipedia.
Cala says its aim is to "create communities with a true sense of place" and puts design, craftsmanship and value at the centre. It says customer service comes first and that five-star service is a long-standing tradition. A Gradcracker page quotes its line "We're Cala. We build dreams and aspirations." It also says that doing right by communities and the planet matters to the company, and it has a sustainability section on its website.
The business goes back to 1875, when it was set up in Aberdeen as the City of Aberdeen Land Association. Wikipedia lists Edinburgh as the head office. In 1997 it invested in sites in the West Midlands, in 1998 it bought the Yorkshire-based Victor Homes, and in 2013 it opened an Aberdeen office and later two offices in southern England, in 2014 buying Banner Homes. Wikipedia reports over 1,300 staff and 10 offices in 2023.
On culture, Gradcracker quotes the company describing an inclusive workplace, with support and chances to grow, and saying its people are essential to its future. Those are the company's claims and we found no independent staff survey. We have not seen any detail on day-to-day working life. The company also says that customer service is its first priority, so people in sales and after-sales roles are central to how it describes itself, and that its homes are regularly described by customers as energy-efficient and low maintenance, which points to roles in design and technical teams too.
A higher-end housebuilder still needs the same mix of skills as any other: site managers, surveyors, engineers, planners, land buyers, designers, sales advisers and customer care teams, plus finance and human resources staff. Cala's emphasis on design and craftsmanship means that attention to detail is valued. Subjects such as design technology, art, maths and geography are all relevant. See the Cala website for current vacancies and the region nearest you.
Website: www.cala.co.uk
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