Bank of Scotland has backed the £64m (€91m) buy-out of Beechcroft Developments, a UK housebuilder, using a joint-venture structure to give management a greater stake in the company than it could expect in a traditional buy-out.

Paul Hemming, a director at Kroll Corporate Finance who advised Beechcroft on the deal, said: "The joint venture gives management a 50% stake in the company. In the traditional buy-out model their stake might be 30%."