In 1991 the company was badly hit by the recession and recalled Lawrie Barratt from retirement: he retired for good in 1997 and remained life president until his death in December 2012. In 2004 the company sold "Barratt American", its US operation, established in the 1980s in California. Following the house price boom in the later 1990s and early 2000s, which saw a number of Barratt's largest rivals, such as Persimmon, George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow all acquire rivals to increase in size, Barratt broke its tradition of 30 years and acquired Wilson Bowden, best known for its David Wilson Homes brand, for £2.7 billion in 2007. This brought the David Wilson, Ward Homes and Wilson Bowden Developments brands to the group.