Cala Homes has opened redundancy consultations for nearly half of the technical drawing department in its English headquarters in Buckinghamshire in order to focus on its standardised range.

It is understood five members of a dozen-strong team working in the Bourne End office were told late last month they would be made redundant.

The department’s work is divided between those working on the housebuilder’s standardised range and those working on bespoke designs, with cuts set to fall on staff involved with the latter.

Cala said a ‘small number’ of roles were affected

According to one source, the design team had been subject to a hiring freeze for a while, which staff had assumed was linked to Cala’s recent sale.

US private equity firm Sixth Street and former owner Patron Capital bought the firm for £1.35bn from Legal and General in September.

In a statement, Cala confirmed that some roles in its English head office were set to go.

“We have recently proposed some changes to our design team structure, which may impact a small number of roles in our England head office,” said a spokesperson.

“This is part of our strategic plan to concentrate on our core homes. We are committed to supporting those affected through the consultation process.”

The spokesperson added the decision was not influenced by Cala’s new owners.

In March, Cala released its annual report which showed that pre-tax profit had slipped from £169m to £112m last year on turnover down 7% to £1.3bn.