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Government invests £30m in modular house builder
The government has announced it will invest £30m into Ilke Homes in its first direct investment in a modular housing factory.
Coming from Homes England’s Home Building Fund, the investment will help boost the capacity of Ilke’s Yorkshire-based factory to 5,000 homes per year within the next five years. The factory is expected to deliver 2,000 homes next year.
The government said the funding is part of a drive to make the North of England a green housing “construction corridor”.
It said modular homes, like those built in Ilke’s factory, are more energy efficient and provide a higher level of quality and consistency than traditionally built homes.
Ilke has previously struck deals to provide homes for several housing associations and local authorities, including Home Group, LiveWest and Newcastle City Council.
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In May, Places for People bought 750 homes from Ilke for £100m, in the UK’s largest ever modular housing deal.
In a wave of announcements regarding the modular construction sector over the weekend, the government has also appointed Mark Farmer, chief executive of consultancy Cast, as its modern methods of construction (MMC) champion.
Mr Farmer will provide independent scrutiny and advice to the government on the delivery of the construction corridor in the North and promote innovation in the sector.
Housing minister Esther McVey said: “The North of England has the potential to lead the world in the MMC that are transforming homebuilding, an industry that when matured would be worth £40bn a year and provide up to 80,000 jobs. We need to fully embrace this.
“This £30m investment in Ilke Homes is a significant step forwards in the development of the ‘construction corridor’ – a new hub in the North that is front and centre of building the homes we need.”
Dave Sheridan, executive chair at Ilke Homes, said: “This deal is testament to the dynamic approach Homes England is taking to address structural issues within our housing and construction industries.
“The funding will bring in further private capital, creating hundreds more skilled jobs, allowing us to build more homes, more quickly for first-time buyers. We want to continue driving efficiency, quality and sustainability within the housebuilding industry and see this as a fantastic signal to others wishing to do the same.”
Mr Farmer said: “Today’s announcement highlights Homes England’s increasing appetite to make direct interventions into the housing market to address some of the challenges we face building high-quality homes at pace.”
