The Prowting family, having sold out to Westbury in May, has bought a 75% stake in Banner Homes from 3i. The move ends considerable speculation about the future of Banner after it became clear that 3i wanted to offload its holding. The Banner management team backed the move. The team, along with a new employee benefit trust, owns the other 25% of the firm. <p></p><p>* Country &amp;&amp; Metropolitan is buying NorthCountry Homes for &amp;£14 million. NCH builds in the north east from Nottingham to Newcastle and last year built 630 homes at an average selling price of &amp;£60,000. </p><p></p>