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Ikea offsite firm selects manufacturer for first UK homes
An offsite homes developer that is partly owned by Ikea has appointed modular housing manufacturer TopHat to deliver its first homes in the UK.
BoKlok UK, which is jointly owned by Ikea and Swedish construction company Skanska, has signed a five-year contract with South Derbyshire-based TopHat to manufacture two and three-bedroom houses.
The homes will be made from timber frames and will place an emphasis on natural light and low energy consumption. All homes will be fitted out with Ikea products.
Earlier this year, BoKlok exchanged contracts on its first three UK development sites in Worthing, Bristol, and Peacehaven.
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Most of the homes will be for market sale, but some will be sold to local authorities and housing associations for social housing.
In April last year, US investment giant Goldman Sachs invested £75m in TopHat to help the manufacturer scale up its business.
Graeme Culliton, UK managing director at BoKlok, said: “We are delighted to be working with TopHat.
“We share the same ambition to bring innovation and sustainability to the UK housing market, which means attractive and good-quality homes for people on average incomes.
“Our two companies complement one another well, with TopHat bringing its high levels of automated manufacturing expertise and BoKlok having over 20 years’ experience developing and manufacturing over 12,000 homes in the Nordics.
“As we venture into the UK, we believe that TopHat will contribute to our long-term vision and success to provide quality, low-cost homes, using sustainable materials and modern methods of construction [MMC].”
Jordan Rosenhaus, chief executive of TopHat, said: “BoKlok is a leader in MMC and we are extremely proud that it has selected TopHat based on the quality of our work.
“TopHat’s cutting-edge technology platform underpins our manufacturing processes and enables us to deliver quality and consistency at lower cost.
“We look forward to working with BoKlok as they deliver their first homes in the UK.”
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