<i>Banner wants to build at the upper end of the market and more than double production by 2007</i><p></p><p><b>When venture capitalist 3i announced it was to sell its stake in Banner Homes last year, rumours of buyers were rife - would it be Wimpey, would it be Persimmon? Would it be another management buy-out? But, as Ben Roskrow reports, a fortuitous combination of events resulted in a neat deal with a famous housebuilding family</b><br><b>When venture capitalist 3i told the Banner Homes board that the time had come to cash in its investment in the Buckinghamshire builder, Banner boss Richard Werth admits that it took him somewhat bit by surprise. </b><br> Just three years earlier - in January 1999 - 3i had backed the &amp;£22.9 million management buy-out of Banner by Werth and his team, making the firm one of the first of a host of housebuilders to go back down the private route. While Werth knew that 3i would eventually move on, he felt the company had only just settled again following the disruption caused by the mbo. The prospect of more uncertainty, although inevitable, was unwelcome. </p><p> &amp;“We knew 3i was a three to five year player when the deal …