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New developer eyes 500 homes per year after acquiring modular firm
A newly formed multimillion-pound developer has set its sights on delivering 500 homes per year within the next 12 months through its newly-acquired modular housing factory in the east of England.
The bosses of the newly created Impact Capital have said that they are looking to “rip up the rule book” on housing and help to revive under-utilised sites following the acquisition of Lesko Modular.
Impact will use Lesko’s modular factory in Peterborough to deliver its own developments, which include a 1,000-home regeneration project in Essex. It will also look to deliver homes for third parties through the factory.
Robert Whitton, founder and chair of Impact, told Inside Housing that the company aims to produce 500 homes per year through the factory and expects to be at that point within the next 12 months.
The group has already signed deals with an NHS trust and Bristol City Council to provide key worker accommodation. Mr Whitton added that he expects the majority of the factory’s clients to be housing associations or public sector organisations.
Impact’s first development will be a 1,000-home regeneration project in Romford, Essex, on a site acquired for £16m.
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The site was acquired with the backing of a private family that has committed £100m to Impact Capital to aid with the assembly of a development pipeline.
Mr Whitton said the coronavirus crisis has “shown us the urgent need for a new way of building in the UK”.
Nick Shattock, chief executive of Impact, said: “We have seen sites close across the country very quickly. We have seen last week Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon indicating that they’re going to reopen their sites, but they’re going to have to reopen their sites in a different way.
“Our factory hasn’t closed. Modular is able to cope with all circumstances, including social distancing.
“There are no wet trades and most items are capable of being craned into position. A safe factory environment, super hygienic and highly engineered is the way forward.”
In the past year a number of modular housing firms, including Goldman Sachs-backed TopHat and Yorkshire-based Ilke Homes, have reported losses in their annual accounts. However, much of these losses can be attributed to the high start-up costs of these businesses.
Mr Shattock added: “For us to own the supply chain or a large percentage of the supply chain, but also have the land and the pipeline, is the real point. The weakness in the modular business has been the absence of the pipeline.”
Last November, the government announced that it would invest £30m in Ilke Homes, representing its first direct investment in a modular housing factory.
