THE NEW owners of Ward Homes, the Medway-based house builder, are to keep the long-established Kent name.

Wilson Bowden, parent company of David Wilson Homes, recently bought the Chatham firm for £70m - including £45.3m of debt - to give it a foothold in the growth areas of North Kent, Ashford and the Thames Gateway.

Greg Locke, eastern divisional chairman for David Wilson Homes, admitted that the company had considered changing the Ward name, but had rejected the idea.

He said: "We made a strategic decision to stay with the Ward Homes name. The Ward company has stayed exactly as it was but it's just been brought under the umbrella of the Wilson Bowden group.

“We don't see in the foreseeable future any reason to change it. The brand is strong."

He also said there were no plans to move the company out of Ash Tree Lane, Chatham, describing the Medway area as “an ideal location”.

Ward Homes was founded in Gillingham in 1935, and until the 1990s, remained a family firm led by Denis Ward.

However, Wilson Bowden had no hesitation in making a bid when the company came up for sale.

Mr Locke said: "We saw it as a good business to bolt on to the Wilson Bowden Group.

"It's very important that we've got expansion around the M25 but particularly in this part of the world. It's very important for us as a national player to be involved in that growth."