ilke Homes and Man GPM have signed a £31million deal to develop 227 new homes in Grantham. The deal marks the biggest institutional investment into modular housing so far in 2021 and will create a mixed tenure community with a range of home ownership and rental options.
The project will see the delivery of an affordable and inclusive mixed tenure community on a 14.6-acre site at Dysart Road. Of the 227 factory-built homes being delivered, 140 will be made available at affordable rent levels, 47 for shared ownership and 40 homes will be for private sale at market value. All the new homes at Dysart Road will exceed the Government’s Future Homes Standard, which is expected to be launched in 2023 and aims to reduce carbon emissions from housing by at least a 75%, while also exceeding the UK Green Building Council’s embodied carbon targets.
Man GPM’s Community Housing strategy seeks to achieve the dual objectives of providing both social and financial returns, addressing the housing crisis in the UK by building homes that are affordable to households. The strategy invests and develops both rental and ownership homes, with a focus on addressing the housing challenges of ‘squeezed middle-income’ families who do not qualify for social housing and for whom mortgages are unaffordable.
Shamez Alibhai, Head of Community Housing and Portfolio Manager at Man GPM, said: “We are delighted to be making a positive contribution to ease the affordable housing shortage the UK is facing by delivering a high-quality modern development with a range of housing tenures. This investment demonstrates that it is possible to deliver high quality housing, using state-of-the-art construction methods while also creating homes that are affordable to local residents. We believe the scale of the housing shortfall across the UK requires innovative solutions and importantly ones which look after people, place and planet. Delivering ilke Homes modular housing to the Grantham site means we are not only building affordable homes but doing so in a way that also upholds our commitment to sustainable and energy-efficiency projects.”
The deal represents a huge vote of confidence in offsite manufacturing, as the sector continues to garner huge interest from investors. Matthew Bench, Executive Director of Partnerships at ilke Homes, added: “It’s a huge vote of confidence in MMC from the institutional marketplace and it’s fantastic that Man GPM are spearheading that investment. Our accredited, digitally-led method of delivery continues to significantly reduce construction timelines, typically by half when compared to traditional methods, helping investors access revenue streams at the earliest possible point. Being able to meet institutional ESG aspirations and aligning ourselves with the shift of the investment market to single family housing further underpins our near 200% growth seen this financial year.”
There is an urgent need to diversify methods of housebuilding to speed up the delivery of much-needed affordable housing. A report by the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed that waiting lists for council housing in England will almost double to two million people next year, exceeding the peak that followed the 2008 financial crisis. It’s report ‘Building Post Pandemic Prosperity’ calls for a programme of building 100,000 new homes for social rent each year. The LGA estimates this would result in a £15billion boost for the economy. Ian Jackson, Investment Director, Community Housing at Man GPM, said: “We’re delighted to have completed our first investment in modular housing with ilke Homes, and one of the largest investments in modular housing in the UK to date. The overall design and quality of the homes should deliver not just high quality, energy-efficient affordable housing, but a community for families to call their own. We aim to deliver more affordable homes using modular construction, which we believe is a great housing product, and the future of the residential housing industry.”
To read full article, go to Offsite Magazine issue 27!
