Places for People and Ilke Homes join forces to deliver hundreds of modular homes, in one of the UK housing’s largest modular construction deals
In the largest deal yet for Britain’s modular housing sector, Places for People will purchase 750 units from ilke Homes, including 500 for sites they already own and 250 for new schemes it will partner on to develop affordable and market-priced housing.
Minister of state for housing, Kit Malthouse, said: “This is excellent news as the UK blazes a trail in the modern methods of construction that are transforming home building.
“Today’s announcement supports our urgent mission to deliver more, better and faster home construction to ensure a new generation can realise the dream of homeownership.”
David Cowans, chief executive of Places for People, added: “We are a market disruptor becoming more active in the adoption of MMC; partnering with a proven modular business such as ilke allows us to create more affordable, well-designed homes across the country – speeding up delivery, cutting cost and giving our customers unrivalled choice and quality.
“This is just the start for offsite manufacturing and as placemakers, we are going to invest even more in modular. We will implement efficient processes and new design techniques which not only raise the bar for the industry – but crucially, give people across the country affordable homes to live in.
“Our partnership is about pioneering a new way of delivering homes and disrupting the market through making socially-responsible decisions and working with best-in-class partners to improve quality, speed up housing delivery and minimise environmental impact.”
Sir Edward Lister, chair of Homes England, commented: “It’s no secret that the housing industry has been facing significant productivity and skills challenges in recent years, which is why, as the government’s housing accelerator, Homes England is committed to championing modern methods of construction – such as modular homes – to increase the pace of delivery across the country.
“It’s exciting to see two of our partners, Places for People and ilke Homes, joining forces to increase the capacity of the offsite manufacturing industry and deliver much-needed new homes. This kind of innovation in the private sector is exactly what we need to see more of to disrupt the housing market and meet the country’s housing demand.”
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “It’s really positive to see housing providers like Places for People embracing offsite manufacturing. This is the single biggest modular housing deal yet, and the fact that it has been led by a housing providers speaks volumes about where we as a sector are at.
“Offsite manufacturing is an opportunity to build high-quality homes, support communities and invest in skills through the jobs it creates. It clearly provides huge benefits for accelerating delivery and improving energy efficiency.
“Housing providers are well-placed to take a long-term, strategic view around the delivery of new homes and I am delighted to see the likes of Places for People and ilke Homes on the vanguard of change across the housing sector.”
Mark Farmer, a government advisor who warned in his landmark report the construction sector must “modernise or die”, said: “Places for People’s leadership in this space, driving forward this kind of strategic deal, is a template for how the wider housing providers sector should act. We were impressed that ilke Homes had a strong digital design thread, a clear path for business evolution and the technical and management skills to be a best in class modular business.”
“Game-changing disruption in the UK modular homes sector is now starting to gather pace. This revolution is long overdue and will enable us to deliver more homes to a better quality.
“The government’s pledge to get us building 300,000 homes a year will only be possible if offsite manufacturing capacity grows and other prominent developers follow the lead set down by the likes of Places for People, Berkeley Homes and Urban Splash.”
