Housing minister Esther McVey has announced a £30m loan for ilke Homes to drive modular housing production in the North of England.
The finance, which comes from Homes England’s £4.5bn Home Building Fund, is part of the government’s aim to create a hub for modern methods of construction in the region and follows last week’s announcement of plans to build a centre of excellence in the North for MMC.
“The North of England has the potential to lead the world in the modern methods of construction that are transforming home building,” said McVey. “This £30m investment in ilke Homes is a significant step forwards in the development of the ‘Construction Corridor’ – a new hub in the North that is front and centre of building the homes we need.”
Ilke Homes said the funding would help it to scale its modular housing output and become a top-10 volume housebuilder. Next year it wants to produce 2,000 homes from its factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire and has an overall goal of delivering 5,000 homes a year within the next five years.
Dave Sheridan, executive chairman at ilke Homes, said: “The funding will bring in further private capital, creating hundreds more skilled jobs allowing us to build more homes more quickly for first-time buyers. We want to continue driving efficiency, quality and sustainability within the housebuilding industry and see this as a fantastic signal to others wishing to do the same.”
Homes England chief executive Nick Walkley said the funding would have a “transformational effect” on ilke Homes’ production.
In May, ilke Homes agreed a £100m deal to provide Places for People with 750 homes. It was the largest modular deal in the UK.
The Yorkshire-based modular housebuilder has a vision to scale the delivery of modular homes across the country. It has launched an MMC training academy and last month, appointed a growth and partnerships lead to build the business
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