Modular housing specialist, ilke Homes, has announced regional expansion, along with a new ‘homes and development unit’ to manage its growth
The modular housing company has opened new offices in London, Birmingham and Bristol.
ilke Homes managing director Ben Miller has also been promoted into the newly-created role of chief executive officer of the company’s new homes and development unit, which will manage all sales of homes to customers, including housing associations, local authorities and private developers.
The homes and development unit merges ilke Homes’ core business – as an offsite manufacturer that supplies homes directly to clients – with ‘turnkey’ development solutions, whereby customers can purchase complete developments sourced and delivered by ilke Homes.
ilke Homes will acquire land, gain planning permission, manufacture the homes and develop the sites, making the company a fully-integrated housing developer.
The modular housing firm has found that clients often want a mix of direct home supply on their existing sites, right through to purchasing complete developments. By combining these two teams, the company can provide greater customer choice and flexibility to clients across affordable housing, build-to-rent schemes, and for market sale.
Regional expansion
ilke Homes’ regional expansion into Birmingham, London and Bristol will enable it to identify undeveloped sites in the Midlands, South East and South West for new developments.
Miller will manage the new business unit as well as lead on the sales of the homes, while ilke Homes executive chairman Dave Sheridan will continue to oversee the manufacturing and development functions of the business.
Miller has expertise in the regions in which ilke Homes has opened offices, having established and launched Crest Nicholson’s midlands, south east and south west divisions.
This experience will help ilke Homes get a fast start in the regions, as it looks to identify land opportunities and build relationships with new and existing partners.
The modular housing company has a development pipeline of c.3,200 homes, which has almost trebled from 1,200 homes a year ago.
Speed up housing delivery
Ben Miller, chief executive officer at ilke Homes, said: “For Britain to recover quickly from Covid-19, the construction sector needs to be able to respond fast.
“Having a presence in every region will allow us to better support councils and housing associations, which have a real opportunity to speed up their housing delivery with high-quality, eco-friendly homes that can be manufactured and installed quickly, while fully-complying with social-distancing measures.
“Having a turnkey offer – where we acquire land, get consent and supply finished modules – will enable us to better support clients who want to bring homes to the market more quickly. The in-house team we’ve established has huge experience and while there will absolutely be challenging times to come, I am confident we are well-placed to tackle them head-on.”
Dave Sheridan, executive chairman at ilke Homes, added: “Our latest expansion gives us a presence in every English region and is testament to the rapid growth of our business.
“Having built up some of Crest Nicholson’s most successful divisions in the midlands, south east and south west, Ben’s expertise and track record of delivery in these markets will be invaluable as we look to become a top-10 UK housebuilder and to make Britain the go-to global exporter of energy-efficient modular housing.”
