Midlands-based IM Properties has cut a third of the roles in its housing business Spitfire Bespoke Homes, as part of a restructure in the wake of coronavirus.
It has made 25 redundancies, representing 30% of its staff, including senior roles in development and construction.
Spitfire focuses on housebuilding for private sale. The business has undergone a number of restructures in recent years, adapting to a challenging housing market.
In October 2018, it appointed a new leadership team to drive expansion in the Midlands and South East. But the business reported struggles in the South East on its development around London and the Home Counties, where falling sales prices met rising costs.
A strategic review a year later led to Spitfire closing its Southern operations and Maidenhead office, with the departure of regional managing director Jonathan Cranley. It opted to focus on core operations in the Midlands under managing director Ben Leather.
The former build-to-rent brand Spitfire Urbane, which launched in 2017, was moved under IM Properties commercial team two years ago. It is delivering the two schemes at Newhall Square in Birmingham for L&G and at Capital Quarter in Cardiff for Grainger, but is not seeking further opportunities at the present time.
Earlier this month, IM Properties reported its pre-tax profit had more than halved as a result of retail write-downs. However, its turnover from Spitfire was in line with 2018 figures at £70m, following drops the previous year.
Post-pandemic it now faces fresh challenges as economic struggles weigh on businesses and prospective buyers.
Tim Wooldridge, managing director IM Properties, said: “IM Properties is a diverse business and like any successful organisation we have taken a look at how we operate as a whole throughout lockdown.
“The decision has been made to allocate resources where most appropriate, which has meant that the Spitfire business has been restructured in a way that will mean it will emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic on a stronger footing and working to a more efficient model.”
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