George Wimpey was a British construction firm that typically worked in the civil engineering and housebuilding markets.

Established in 1880 and originally based in Hammersmith, the company's early activities were orientated around its road surfacing contractor role, as well as civil engineering, such as the construction of the White City Stadium complex and similar facilities.

Mitchell would head the company for over half a century, making several key decisions such as to enter the private housebuilding sector during the 1920s.

During 1934, George Wimpey went public on the London Stock Exchange; however, an unusual ownership scheme was enacted, under which the charitable Tudor Trust held about half of the firm's shares, an arrangement that lasted for several decades.

However, following the stepping down of Mitchell, the company appeared to lose direction and Wimpey's fiscal performance suffered during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Godfrey Mitchell, who had served in the Royal Engineers during the First World War, purchased the firm and decided to retain the Wimpey name.

[4] Mitchell would serve as George Wimpey's executive chairman for over 50 years and prove to be decisive in the company's fortunes during this time.

[5][6] In the interwar period, Mitchell built up a fleet of steamrollers and took contracts for both public and private paving jobs, a considerable proportion of this work coming from new housing estates.

[5] However, the company's private housebuilding activities were abruptly ceased at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, throughout which Wimpey concentrated on defence-related undertakings.

[8][10] Although Wimpey experienced rising profits in the 1970s, which was largely attributed to its Middle East contracting, the group was beginning to lose direction.

[8][2] The 1990s was a difficult period for the business, particularly in light of the economic consequences of the early 1990s recession; both the housebuilding and civil engineering sectors were hit heavily, leading to a loss of £112 million being recorded in 1992, although profitability did quickly recover.

Furthermore, a few non-core businesses, such as its waste management activities, were divested while various properties held by the firm were written down or sold, decreasing the size of the group somewhat.

[20] When Mitchell took George Wimpey public in 1934, he set up a unique ownership scheme wherein the charitable Tudor Trust held about half of the firm's shares.

Over the next ten years, Chetwood set out to convert these into three principle divisions, Homes, Construction, and Minerals, the aim being to create divisional autonomy and responsibility.

[42] George Wimpey also had operations in the United States trading under Morrison Homes, which was acquired in 1984 when it was based in San Francisco, Northern California.