Housebuilder cuts almost 300 jobs

The Stewart Milne Group is a major Scottish employer

One of the country's biggest house builders is planning to make almost 300 staff redundant.

The Stewart Milne Group blamed "deteriorating market conditions" for the potential job losses.

The Aberdeen-based company said about 289 jobs could be lost, which is approximately 20% of its UK workforce.

The cuts will take place across the group, with 120 staff expected to go in north east Scotland, 73 in the central belt, and 96 in England.

Chief executive Stewart Milne said: "No-one in our sector is immune from the downturn."

"The lack of liquidity and lower consumer confidence has resulted in a decline in sales and despite our efforts to overcome these challenges, the ongoing market conditions have impacted on us."

The company has begun consultations with employees about potential job losses.

Glenn Allison, group managing director, said: "We have worked hard to overcome the challenges and minimise the impact of market conditions.

"We deeply regret that redundancies may be required at this time.

"We will do everything we can to support those employees affected and all other employees in our business while continuing to provide the highest quality standards of service to our customers."

Stewart Milne Group was founded by Mr Milne in 1975 and has become one of the UK's leaders in the field.

Its workforce has grown from 30 to more than 1,000 and its turnover from £1m to hundreds of millions.

Mr Milne became chairman of Aberdeen Football Club in 1997.