Author: Benjamin Balfour

Briar Homes is to become one of the first UK housebuilders to be supported by a Regional Growth Initiative (RGI) from Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) which forms part of the social impact investor’s newly created £300 million property fund.

(From left) Scott Sanderson, HGP; Ian McGarvey, Briar Homes; Ross Baird, HGP; Paul Kelly, Briar Homes and Collin Bennet, HGP

The RGI is a four-year commitment that will see HGP investing up to £10m of equity alongside Briar, targeting new sites for family housing in locations across Central Scotland, with a particular focus on Glasgow and the surrounding commuter belt.

Colin Bennett, HGP investment director for Scotland, said: “We are delighted to support regional housebuilders like Briar Homes, which have the ambition to provide much-needed new homes and also to give those searching for a new property more options beyond a market dominated so heavily by PLC housebuilders.

“Our relationship with Briar goes back some years in fact. Being part of the AS Group, a family owned and operated business, we first invested alongside AS Homes in 2016 supporting its entry back into the private development market and they created an incredible location at Broomhouse.”

Since 2016, HGP has provided Briar with equity investment of £3.6m across two development schemes, delivering over 100 units and assisting with the company’s ambitious growth plans. With the implementation of the RGI partnership, HGP aims to support the development of up to a further eight sites and over 400 new homes.

Paul Kelly, managing director of Briar Homes Ltd, said: “The support we have received by working in partnership with HGP over the past four years is key to our continued growth. We are delighted to be signing up as their first ‘Regional Growth Initiative’ partner in Scotland, with an initial £10m funding commitment over the next four years. This allows us to focus on building high quality, architect-designed homes in sought after locations.

“The funding partnership is vital to our aim of creating new homes to exacting standards. The first development funded through the RGI of 35 homes at Dealston Road will offer buyers a higher specification as standard and will create a new community within the popular town of Barrhead, Glasgow.”

Colin added: “Briar’s focus on high quality, good value homes epitomises the value that small and medium-sized housebuilders bring to their local communities.

“Our joint discussions around how HGP could better support their plans for the future helped us shape the RGI as a proposition, and we are delighted to be providing long-term support to the business through the newly created £300m fund.”

If you are looking to create a partnership with Housing Growth, get in touch today.

Housing Growth Partnership (‘HGP’) is pleased to announce that it has recently provided equity funding of more than £3m to award-winning UK property developer Artisan Real Estate.
The funding, which follows the recent launch of HGP’s £300m fund for SME housebuilders across the UK, will support the development of Rowanbank Gardens in Corstorphine, Edinburgh, comprising 126 energy-efficient, low carbon homes.

Demand
Colin Bennett, Investment Director for Scotland at HGP, commented: “Edinburgh has ambitious targets for low carbon housing and we are more than confident that this latest development, will prove to be extremely popular in the local market.

Artisan is perhaps best known in Scotland for large scale city regeneration projects like New Waverley, which has transformed the heart of Edinburgh’s historic Old Town. The developer is now applying the same values and philosophy which has guided the successful design and execution of New Waverley to its residential developments, setting it apart from other major homebuilders in Scotland.

HGP has forged an excellent working relationship with the Artisan team and we are delighted to be investing into this exciting development that will significantly raise the industry bar on sustainable home building in Scotland.

The development
The development will deliver a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, all designed around a central courtyard garden, filled with fruit trees and communal planting beds, that will provide nearly twice the level of open space recommended by council planning policy.

Apartments are designed for open plan living with large windows giving views of the courtyard and the wider area, while green roofs ensure benefits of surface water retention, insulation and ecology.

Linking closely with the City of Edinburgh Council’s ‘Future Edinburgh’ strategy which aims to make the city carbon neutral within the next ten years, Rowanbank’s smart building design has been matched with an innovative approach to placemaking and community – introducing such creative concepts as green roofs, ‘edible’ gardens and green transport plans to sensitive city centre environments, which includes all-electric charging points for the provided car parking, City Car Club spaces and generous secure cycle parking.

David Westwater, Artisan’s Scottish Regional Manager, for Artisan Real Estate, believes that the development represents an exciting stepping stone in the growth and development of the company.

He says: “HGP have proved to be a great support to us every step of the way and we’re looking forward to working closely together to bring this low carbon development to market and importantly, satisfying the housing needs of so many local people.

“Remaining true to our urban regeneration credentials, at the heart of all our developments is building a strong sense of place for a wide range of homebuyers, including young professionals, families and downsizers.

“With Rowanbank, we now have an opportunity in Scotland to set a new benchmark for high quality urban regeneration in a sensitive city-centre environment, but with low carbon footprint development at the heart of everything we do.”

The properties will be for sale from November, with the sales office opening in Spring 2022, and first movers anticipated in Autumn 2022.

If you are housebuilder looking for growth and to accelerate your business through funding get in touch with HGP today.

HGP and Genesis Homes (‘Genesis’) are pleased to announce that Genesis will be one of the first HGP partners in the newly establish Regional Growth Initiative (‘RGI’) which forms part of HGP’s newly created £300m property fund.

Genesis Homes is a Penrith based housebuilder, established in 2017 to deliver quality family homes, with the vision of becoming the leading housebuilder in the region.  Genesis is focussed on delivering 2 storey affordable family housing in well-connected semi-rural locations that have an identified housing need.  Genesis has a well established house type range which has been refined and improved using ongoing customer feedback and sales performance data.

Genesis’s recent (April 2021) acquisition of Russell Armer Homes has further underlined their growth ambitions and allows them to enter the South Lakes residential market with a well respected and sought after brand.

The RGI is a 5-year commitment that will see HGP investing up to £15m of equity alongside Genesis in residential developments across Cumbria and the South Lakes to allow them to target and purchase larger strategic development sites and grow into an established regional housebuilder.

Since 2018, HGP has provided Genesis with equity commitments of £9.1m across 7 development schemes, totalling 251 units, helping Genesis grow from delivering 10 units in its first full financial year to 75 units and revenue in excess of £20m in 2020.  With the implementation of the RGI partnership, Genesis is well placed to meet its target of delivering over 180 units per annum from 2026 onwards.

 

Nicky Gordon, Managing Director of Genesis Homes commented: “The RGI has allowed us to utilise our equity in progressing a larger number of schemes and it provides us with additional confidence to grow our business through this reassurance that our equity can go further. The sharing of speculative time delay risk in the planning and pre start process is also of significance in that we know that our entire equity is not trapped in specific schemes that may experience a delay in commencement. The streamlining of legal and due diligence processes is also notable“

 

John McKeon, Investment Director of HGP, commented “HGP has supported Genesis for 4 years and been extremely impressed with the schemes delivered and the quality of the team that Nicky has built. It is with businesses like Genesis in mind, with strong capabilities, an ambition to increase their output and a strong local community focus, that we have developed the Regional Growth Initiative.

We look forward to continuing our support of Genesis as Nicky and the team look to deliver on their growth plans over the coming years and we look forward to rolling out the Regional Growth Initiative with further established partners.”

 

 

 

Rachel Miller has been appointed by Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) to a newly created Investment Director role. She is responsible for accelerating growth by transacting larger equity investments in residential developments across the UK.

Previously Head of New Investment at Grosvenor, her appointment marks a step change in the ambitions of HGP, with significant additional funding recently announced and a remit covering developments up to £75 million and the full range of residential sectors, including BTR, retirement, affordable and regeneration.

She comments: “It’s an exciting time to be joining HGP following the recent announcement of a new £300 million equity commitment to joint ventures with housebuilders and developers.”

“There is a clear need for more housing in this country, and everyone should be able to access good quality, secure and well-managed properties through a range of ownership and rental options. Whether that be a suburban house with a garden, or a city-centre retirement development.”

“My background working in complex and historic areas of London has given me an appreciation of creating places which retain their desirability for the long term and which are flexible enough to respond to change. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to partner with those developers who share our ambition to create homes which are sustainable positive additions to existing places and communities.”

Rachel’s previous roles have seen her as Head of Strategy for Grosvenor and consulting for Matter Real Estate.

Rachel is a Chartered Surveyor with degrees from Cambridge and Reading Universities and she sits on the Board of Soho Housing.
If you are a large housebuilder seeking investment, get in touch today. 

 

• Housing Growth Partnership (‘HGP’) commits £300 million equity funding to SME and regional housebuilders
• New fund aims to support the development of 10,000 new homes by 2025
• Regional Growth Initiative will provide additional assistance to the most ambitious regional housebuilders in the UK

HOUSING GROWTH PARTNERSHIP II

The Housing Growth Partnership II (‘HGP’) has announced a new £300 million commitment to SME and regional housebuilders in the UK. The partnership aims to bridge the homebuilder funding gap, allowing housebuilders to build more homes across the UK and grow their businesses.

The new fund will support a wider range of housing tenures to meet the UK’s diverse and evolving housing needs. Building on the success of the first HGP fund announced in 2016, the new £300 million commitment will help HGP achieve its target of supporting the development of 10,000 new homes by 2025.

The new fund will be broader in scope to enable investment into larger housebuilding projects with a development value of up to £75 million. It will offer support for the delivery of a wider range of housing projects including Build to Rent, Regeneration and Retirement Living. The partnership will also look to prioritise projects with a greater sustainability focus, as well as those using modern methods of construction and other evolutionary construction methods.

Since its launch, the HGP has invested alongside 46 housebuilders to support the delivery of over 4,568 new homes, with nearly half now completed and sold to families across the UK.

Housing Minister RT Hon Christopher Pincher MP said: 

“It is a top priority of this Government to increase housing supply so hard-working people can be helped into home ownership.

“A thriving SME sector is crucial to our house building targets and ambitions. This significant amount of funding will help smaller and regional housebuilders by providing them with the financial support necessary to deliver much needed new homes.”

Vic Hepburn, CEO of Housing Growth Partnership, said: “We are pleased to be building on the success of the Housing Growth Partnership by extending the range of support we can provide to the UK housebuilding market. This includes our new multi-tenure approach which will provide more flexibility for housebuilders and more choice for homebuyers.

The introduction of the Regional Growth Initiative will also allow the Housing Growth Partnership to support the most ambitious housebuilders in a more substantial way with additional financial and strategic support.”

Harry Swales, Chief Investment Officer at Homes England, said: ‘The Housing Growth Partnership has already proved to be a huge public-private sector success and we’re now pleased to expand the fund to offer SMEs further support. By injecting this additional investment and harnessing Lloyds Banking Group’s commercial skills we’re able to diversify the market, support increasing numbers of builders and provide the homes the country needs.

 

REGIONAL GROWTH INITIATIVE

 The HGP fund will also partner with the most ambitious SME housebuilders in the UK to support their growth and development through its new Regional Growth Initiative. This scheme will see HGP committing a higher level of dedicated equity support to these housebuilders over a defined period to allow them to invest in their businesses and target larger and more strategic sites.

The first five regional partnerships are already in place across in four different regions of the UK with Genesis Homes, Durkan Homes, Stonewood Partnerships, Briar Homes and Cruden Homes.

The Regional Growth Initiative is being rolled out UK wide with the aim of trying to support the next generation of large regional housebuilders.

If you are a housebuilder looking to find out more, get in touch today with our team.

 

The Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) recently announced a new £300 million commitment to SME and regional housebuilders in the UK which will help to address that demand. Here, Vic Hepburn, CEO and Head of Fund at HGP and Harry Swales, Chief Investment Officer at Homes England give their views on the new partnership, it’s aims and ambitions, and how it will help to increase housing supply.

Tell us about the Housing Growth Partnership – what does it do and how does it work?

Vic: The Housing Growth Partnership aims to bridge equity funding gaps for housebuilders, allowing them to build more homes across the UK. Since its launch in 2016 we’ve invested alongside 46 housebuilders to support the delivery of 4,568 new homes, 2,200 of those homes have already been sold to families across the UK.

And what additional benefits will this new £300 million commitment bring?

Vic: The new fund will support a range of housing tenures required to meet the UK’s diverse and evolving housing needs. Building on the success of the first HGP fund, the new £300 million commitment is a big step towards our target of supporting the development of 10,000 new homes by 2025.

It will also allow us to broaden in scope and enable investment into larger housebuilding projects with a development value of up to £75 million. We’ll be able to support the delivery of a wider range of housing projects including Build to Rent, Regeneration and Retirement Living too.

Harry: We’ll also be supporting the growth and development of the most ambitious SME housebuilders in the UK through the new Regional Growth Initiative. Taking a more flexible approach means these SME builders can target larger and more strategic sites for development. Most importantly it will provide partners  with the confidence to make long term investment decisions to facilitate growth.

That’s really encouraging. Will the Regional Growth Initiative be available in every region of the UK?

Vic Yes, in fact the first of our regional partnerships are already in four different regions of the UK. In Cumbria, for example, we’ve partnered with local developer Genesis Homes to support their target of delivering more than 180 new homes per annum by 2026. With this early stage cashflow support Genesis will be able to buy larger sites, driving its growth into a more established builder in the region.

The housing industry can be complex but it’s so important to the UK economy. How have you seen the industry and market change since the launch of HGP in 2016?

Vic: Given that our fund has existed through the EU Referendum, Brexit and Covid, I think we have just about seen everything! Some of the challenges we had before these events like construction capacity and supply have become even bigger issues that will continue to constrain the industry for some time.

Of course, people’s housing needs and where they want to live is also evolving and it will be important that housebuilders and policy makers are on the front foot with this change. The online shopping revolution had already created a conundrum around how we reinvigorate our town centres and now the Covid pandemic has made the entire UK reassess its housing requirements. Just how much of this change is permanent and what we will need to do to address longer term is very difficult to predict.

And what further changes do you think we can expect to see over the next five years or so?

Vic: I think there’s a fantastic opportunity for innovation to support both production capacity and energy efficiency, particularly with the Future Homes Standard in England and similarly ambitious targets being set in devolved administrations. The industry can’t simply pass on more build cost to home buyers given the severity of the home buying affordability issue in the UK.

Planning reform will definitely dominate focus over the next five years as well. There is an impressive amount of national ambition in that regard, but if the Bill is passed I suspect it will be very challenging to implement change locally at the pace required, given the capacity issues we know exist.

Harry: The transition towards net zero carbon will undoubtedly be a driving force for change within home building over the coming years. SME homebuilders have a vital role to play here and have an opportunity to show their ingenuity and agility in response. I am also expecting new partnership models to play an active role in the market, bringing together builders with institutional investors as well as housing associations will mean finding new ways to work together to deliver quality new homes for communities across the country. While we often see these approaches being taken larger organisations I believe there will increasingly be opportunities for SMEs to play an active role in these partnerships.

It must make a real difference when you can see families getting onto, or moving up, the housing ladder and enjoying their new homes. How does that impact what you do?

Vic: Absolutely, it’s one of my favourite parts of the role. I get a real buzz from seeing new communities build out over the development phase. I like to visit our completed sites after all the homes have sold to see how the character changes as developments mature. I’m always so impressed by how well regional builders deliver developments and the positive contribution they make to their local communities. No-one in the HGP gets near to pouring foundations or laying bricks on the sites we support (homeowners will be very relieved to hear) but we are still very proud of the homes our partners build. 

Harry: It’s incredibly rewarding to see really the positive outcomes for people and their communities, it’s great to see so many families moving into new homes enabled through the partnership. I know it’s the human stories that inspire me and my colleagues at Homes England. I’m also motivated by seeing our SME partners grow, creating jobs and taking on new opportunities, that has real impact too.

SME home builders have an incredibly important role in delivering the homes our country needs so I’m really excited about the new homes and communities that HGP’s partners will create over the coming years.

The Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) recently announced a new £300 million commitment to SME and regional housebuilders in the UK which will help to address that demand. Here, Vic Hepburn, CEO and Head of Fund at HGP and Harry Swales, Chief Investment Officer at Homes England give their views on the new partnership, it’s aims and ambitions, and how it will help to increase housing supply.

Tell us about the Housing Growth Partnership – what does it do and how does it work?

Vic: The Housing Growth Partnership aims to bridge equity funding gaps for housebuilders, allowing them to build more homes across the UK. Since its launch in 2016 we’ve invested alongside 46 housebuilders to support the delivery of 4,568 new homes, 2,200 of those homes have already been sold to families across the UK.

And what additional benefits will this new £300 million commitment bring?

Vic: The new fund will support a range of housing tenures required to meet the UK’s diverse and evolving housing needs. Building on the success of the first HGP fund, the new £300 million commitment is a big step towards our target of supporting the development of 10,000 new homes by 2025.

It will also allow us to broaden in scope and enable investment into larger housebuilding projects with a development value of up to £75 million. We’ll be able to support the delivery of a wider range of housing projects including Build to Rent, Regeneration and Retirement Living too.

Harry: We’ll also be supporting the growth and development of the most ambitious SME housebuilders in the UK through the new Regional Growth Initiative. Taking a more flexible approach means these SME builders can target larger and more strategic sites for development. Most importantly it will provide partners  with the confidence to make long term investment decisions to facilitate growth.

That’s really encouraging. Will the Regional Growth Initiative be available in every region of the UK?

Vic: Yes, in fact the first of our regional partnerships are already in four different regions of the UK. In Cumbria, for example, we’ve partnered with local developer Genesis Homes to support their target of delivering more than 180 new homes per annum by 2026. With this early stage cashflow support Genesis will be able to buy larger sites, driving its growth into a more established builder in the region.

The housing industry can be complex but it’s so important to the UK economy. How have you seen the industry and market change since the launch of HGP in 2016?

Vic: Given that our fund has existed through the EU Referendum, Brexit and Covid, I think we have just about seen everything! Some of the challenges we had before these events like construction capacity and supply have become even bigger issues that will continue to constrain the industry for some time.

Of course, people’s housing needs and where they want to live is also evolving and it will be important that housebuilders and policy makers are on the front foot with this change. The online shopping revolution had already created a conundrum around how we reinvigorate our town centres and now the Covid pandemic has made the entire UK reassess its housing requirements. Just how much of this change is permanent and what we will need to do to address longer term is very difficult to predict.

And what further changes do you think we can expect to see over the next five years or so?

Vic: I think there’s a fantastic opportunity for innovation to support both production capacity and energy efficiency, particularly with the Future Homes Standard in England and similarly ambitious targets being set in devolved administrations. The industry can’t simply pass on more build cost to home buyers given the severity of the home buying affordability issue in the UK.

Planning reform will definitely dominate focus over the next five years as well. There is an impressive amount of national ambition in that regard, but if the Bill is passed I suspect it will be very challenging to implement change locally at the pace required, given the capacity issues we know exist.

Harry: The transition towards net zero carbon will undoubtedly be a driving force for change within home building over the coming years. SME homebuilders have a vital role to play here and have an opportunity to show their ingenuity and agility in response. I am also expecting new partnership models to play an active role in the market, bringing together builders with institutional investors as well as housing associations will mean finding new ways to work together to deliver quality new homes for communities across the country. While we often see these approaches being taken larger organisations I believe there will increasingly be opportunities for SMEs to play an active role in these partnerships.

It must make a real difference when you can see families getting onto, or moving up, the housing ladder and enjoying their new homes. How does that impact what you do?

Vic: Absolutely, it’s one of my favourite parts of the role. I get a real buzz from seeing new communities build out over the development phase. I like to visit our completed sites after all the homes have sold to see how the character changes as developments mature. I’m always so impressed by how well regional builders deliver developments and the positive contribution they make to their local communities. No-one in the HGP gets near to pouring foundations or laying bricks on the sites we support (homeowners will be very relieved to hear) but we are still very proud of the homes our partners build.

Harry: It’s incredibly rewarding to see really the positive outcomes for people and their communities, it’s great to see so many families moving into new homes enabled through the partnership. I know it’s the human stories that inspire me and my colleagues at Homes England. I’m also motivated by seeing our SME partners grow, creating jobs and taking on new opportunities, that has real impact too.

SME home builders have an incredibly important role in delivering the homes our country needs so I’m really excited about the new homes and communities that HGP’s partners will create over the coming years.

 

About Vic Hepburn

Vic Hepburn is CEO and Head of Fund for Housing Growth Partnership.  Vic has 25 years of investment experience across multiple asset classes.  He helped set up The Housing Growth Partnership in 2016 and was the Head of Investments for the North Region before stepping up to become Head of Fund in 2019.

About Harry Swales

Harry is Chief Investments Officer at Homes England. Harry has over 15 years’ experience in the real estate industry as a developer, investor and funder. He is a chartered surveyor with a background in delivering projects in both the public and private sector.

 

Housing Growth Partnership (‘HGP’) has invested alongside Hollins Homes at their 80 unit development in Loveclough, Lancashire. The development comprises three, four and five bedroom open market homes, as well as twenty four affordable homes, all within an attractive countryside setting.

Residents will benefit from the stunning views of the Rossendale Valley as well as convenient access into Manchester, Burnley and Blackburn, with excellent local education provision available in the area.

John McKeon, HGP Investment Director: “Hollins are well established housebuilder with a reputation for building quality family homes in desirable locations. HGP has forged an excellent relationship with the Hollins management team across previous successful schemes and we are delighted to be investing into a further scheme with them at Loveclough. With the management team’s desire to grow the business, HGP’s investment in the Loveclough scheme will help Hollins to more efficiently deploy their own capital and further support their growth aspirations.”

Mike Cummings, Hollins Homes Finance Director: “The scheme at Loveclough represents another exciting stepping stone in the growth and development of Hollins Homes, made possible through our close relationship with HGP who have proved to be a great support to us every step of the way.”

Housing Growth Partnership (‘HGP’) has invested alongside Russell Armer Homes in phase two of their 79 unit development in Kirkby Lonsdale, South Cumbria.   This scheme is being developed under the well-established Russell Armer brand, following Genesis Homes’s recent acquisition of the company.   Phase 2 of the scheme comprises 28 two, three and four bedroom homes, in a spectacular setting nestled between the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.

Residents will benefit from easy access to the nearby motorway network, excellent local schools, as well as becoming part of a vibrant local community, recognised as being amongst the Sunday Times top 5 best places to live (North West) in 2019 and 2020.

John McKeon, HGP Investment Director: “Russell Armer is a long standing name in the region, with a strong reputation for build quality and customer care, and we are delighted to be able to continue our support of Genesis Homes as it expands its operational platform through the acquisition of Russell Armer.  Kirkby Lonsdale is an extremely popular location which is borne out by the demand for this site and we are confident that the quality and design of the homes will make this another successful development for Genesis Homes.”

Nicky Gordon, Managing Director of Genesis Homes: “We are delighted to have both completed the acquisition of Russell Armer Homes and in doing so been provided with this tremendous opportunity to conclude the development of the hugely successful Oakfield Park development in Kirkby Lonsdale. It was the natural choice to engage HGP and continue our journey together with opportunities in both the Genesis and Russell Armer businesses.”

For more information on Genesis Homes and Russell Armer Homes, please visit their website.

Housing Growth Partnership is pleased to announce that we have reached another milestone as our partners have now delivered and sold over 2,000 new homes across the UK.  The initial target which was set for 2023 was reached 2 years ahead of schedule in early 2021. Housing Growth Partnership continues to support housebuilders across the UK and have set the ambitious new target of supporting the delivery of 10,000 new homes by 2025.  We are committed to making a difference.

For more information about our latest partnerships, visit our case study page.  Get in touch with your local team to understand how we can support your business.

 

As we move forward into 2021, here is a business update from HGP:

In March 2020, Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) announced we had supported house builders to deliver and sell 1,000 new homes across the UK.  HGP has provided over £120m of vital support to 45 house building partners on 70 housing developments since its inception in 2015. To date, small and medium sized house builders have committed to build 3,500 new homes with our support. Of these, 1,000 have now been sold.

Vic Hepburn, CEO and Head of HGP, commented: “It is great to pass a milestone like this as we continue our support for the UK’s house builders. We are very fortunate to be able to partner with fantastic businesses that care passionately about the homes and communities they are delivering. 1,000 families have now taken ownership of new homes thanks to our partnerships, something that everyone involved with HGP is rightly proud of.”

Gordon More, Chief Investment Officer of Homes England, added: “It’s incredibly encouraging to see Housing Growth Partnership hit this important milestone. Supporting SMEs house builders to expand their businesses is an important part of our mission and vital if we are to create a more robust and resilient housing market. A lack of competition in the house building sector stifles the entrepreneurial ambition we need to increase the pace and quality of what we build, and this is precisely what HGP is seeking to address.”

Andy Hulme, Managing Director, Head of Real Estate and Housing, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Today’s announcement demonstrates the commitment to helping small to medium sized house builders across the UK. The contribution from the sector remains fundamental to a healthy UK housing market, and this milestone of 1,000 homes sold which equates to £1bn of much needed housing, demonstrates the ongoing positive impact of the Housing Growth Partnership.”

Housing Growth Partnership are delighted that we have been shortlisted at the 2020 RESI Awards in the ‘Residential Financier of the Year’ category. The RESI Awards, organised by Property Week, recognise excellence in the residential property market. 

Vic Hepburn, CEO of Housing Growth Partnership commented “the team have been working hard to ensure we are helping our partners navigate through these uncertain times as we continue with our mission to support the growth of SME housebuilders across the UK. There possibly hasn’t been a more important time for us to support the market since our launch and there is more we want to do. Being shortlisted for this award helps highlight the exceptional work the team has put in this year and our ongoing support of housebuilding industry’.

The highly acclaimed awards are celebrating excellence in the industry and especially during this exceptional time. The awards will be held on the 2nd of December 2020 in a virtual event. You can find out more about the RESI awards here.

Housing Growth Partnership (‘HGP’) invest in a new James Taylor Homes development brining new homes & bungalows to the village of Newton Longville in Buckinghamshire. United Trust Bank (‘UTB’) will provide the senior debt.

This scheme in Newton Longville comprises seventeen 3 & 4 bedroom houses and bungalows on an attractive low density greenfield site.

The development is within easy reach of Milton Keynes with its excellent road and rail transport links and is designed to appeal to families and downsizers.

James Hutchinson, investment director of Housing Growth Partnership, said: “HGP is delighted to deepen its strategic partnership with James Taylor Homes by embarking upon our second project together. We are also pleased to start a new relationship with UTB who is similarly focused on helping SMEs deliver more family homes. Newton Longville is a great example of HGP’s ongoing commitment to helping our partners grow and we look forward to working with James Taylor Homes and UTB.”

Emil Sohrab, managing director of James Taylor Group, said: “We are delighted to be embarking on a new relationship with UTB and enhancing our existing relationship with HGP. Our experience so far, from our initial approach to draw down, is that our proposal could not have been dealt with more professionally and efficiently. We look forward to another successful project and many more to come with both UTB & HGP.”

If you are looking for investment, speak to us today. 

Earlier this year, we held one of our Senior Advisor Forums to discuss the housebuilding sector and ways we can continue to support the development of homes across the UK.  Find out more about the event and our Senior Advisors in the video below.

Click here to find out more about our Senior Advisors and what they have to offer.

Genesis Homes was founded in 2017 with a vision of building high quality housing developments in Cumbria. To support their growth plans, Genesis sought investment from Housing Growth Partnership, who have since partnered with Genesis on 5 projects across the region.

Nicky Gordon, Managing Director at Genesis Homes, speaks about the support received from HGP in the video below.

HGP Investment Director John McKeon commented: “We are proud to partner with Genesis and support their ambition to deliver high quality homes across Cumbria. It has been a pleasure to work with Nicky and the team at Genesis and we look forward to partnering with them on more projects going forward.”

For more information about Genesis Homes, visit their website. If you are looking for investment support in a residential development, speak to one of the HGP team today.

The prestigious awards are organised by Property Week to celebrate success within the residential property market. Bringing together key players from across the industry, the RESI Awards return for the 8th edition on 15 May 2019 to celebrate the very best within the sector.

We would like to congratulate finalists across all categories, including HGP partner Backhouse Housing for their nomination as “Newcomer of the Year” in addition to our fellow nominees Homes England and Lloyds Bank Real Estate & Housing within the “Residential Financier of the Year” category.

Well done and good luck to all shortlisted nominees, we look forward to meeting you on the night!

The HGP Team.

HGP has been shortlisted at The RESI Awards 2018 for “Residential Financier of the Year”. The prestigious awards, organised by Property Week, celebrates success within the residential property market industry. Bringing together some of the biggest names in the industry, previous winners include Knight Frank, Strutt & Parker and Ballymore Group

The RESI Awards, organised by Property Week, recognise the best residential property market organisations and their successes of the past year, with the ceremony being held on 16th May 2018 at Grosvenor House in London.

Other shortlisted companies in the “Residential Financier of the Year” category include; CapitalRise, Homes England, ICG-Longbow, Ingenious Real Estate, Investec Bank, LaSalle Investment Management, LendInvest, NatWest, OakNorth, Octopus Property and Zorin Finance. HGP wishes all of the companies luck and looks forward to meeting you on the night!

Following two successful years since launch, the Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) has now committed to build c2,000 homes on more than 35 schemes across the UK. In addition to supporting the delivery of new homes, HGP has provided over 1,500 hours of free mentoring to partners through its panel of senior advisors.

The announcement of the next phase of funding for HGP provides certainty and continuity to our existing partners and the opportunity for HGP to support more housebuilders nationwide now and into the future. In confirming the ongoing investment, Homes England and Lloyds Banking Group expect to have supported the delivery of c£1bn of new homes by the summer of 2019.

If you are an experienced small/mid-sized housebuilder or developer looking to grow your business please get in touch with the team at info@housinggrowth.com.

Andy Hulme, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Fund, Housing Growth Partnership:

“Today’s announcement of further funding marks another significant milestone in the evolution of the Housing Growth Partnership. This supports our core purpose of accelerating the delivery of homes across the UK through our partnerships with small and mid-sized housebuilders.”

All eyes are now on the upcoming Autumn Budget and housing is expected to be a hot political topic, but what’s at stake for the housing market? We have compiled together a wish list of housing policies which could potentially help combat the challenges the housing market faces.

What do you want to see included in the Autumn Budget?

• Creating affordable homes, by allowing councils the freedom to borrow to build
• Creating affordable homes for the young and making retirement housing more available
• Simplifying the planning system: overcome challenges to achieve detailed planning consent for the land identified, which could be slowing down housebuilding
• Creating a fiscal system that supports Build to Rent
• Release more land for housing
• Resolving the major construction skills shortage
• More attention to Social Housing
• Helping first time buyers, who are priced out of the market by the rising price, Despite Government-led initiatives like Help to Buy, first-time buyers are finding that they’re having to find vast deposits to be in with a chance of getting on the housing ladder
• Support a new generation of high quality homes for social rent
• Potential cuts to Stamp Duty, rendering significant savings for first-time buyers
• Will the Help To Buy scheme be continued after 2020? The spring budget touched on Right to Buy and new measures for shared ownership
• Ensuring people who need extra support have a safe home that meets their needs
• Settle the question over what happens to social landlords’ rents after 2020
• Align transport infrastructure and housing delivery more effectively
• Offer ready permitted sites to SME builders
• Local authorities to introduce new council tax bands for the most expensive properties

What are the politicians saying?
Theresa May vows to build new homes and has signalled a drive to build thousands of new houses, even calling it her personal mission to take charge of a massive effort to “build more homes, more quickly” (as quoted by, express.co.uk 2017).

Theresa May:
“The number of new homes being delivered each year has been increasing since 2010, but there is more we can do.

“We must get back into the business of building the good quality new homes for people who need them most.

“That is why I have made it my mission to build the homes the country needs and take personal charge of the Government’s response.

“Today I am seeing the work now underway to put this right and, in coming weeks and months, my Government will be going further to ensure that we build more homes, more quickly.

Sajid Javid:
Suggestions have been made by Community Secretary Sajid Javid on bold plans up to an extra £50bn to invest directly in new housing. He has called to take housing associations’ debt off the balance sheet, in the hope of ensuring housing associations have a stable investment environment to build more homes.

Martin Tett, The Local Government Association:
Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s housing spokesman, said: “We are still significantly short of the 300,000 homes we need to be building each year. The last time we hit that number, in the 1970s, councils built more than 40% of them. Councils are serious about delivering the right kind of homes, supported by infrastructure, for our residents, and are playing their part – approving nine out of 10 planning permissions.”

The pressure is now on for the government to perform and help create a housing market that works for everyone, will they follow through with their proposed reforms in the Autumn Budget this Wednesday? All will soon to be revealed, Housing Growth Partnership will keep you up to date.

Housing Growth Partnership has made its debut investment in London and the South East – supporting Durkan’s plans to build new homes in Dartford.

HGP investment manager, James Hutchinson said: “This partnership is the first we have secured in London and the South East and marks a significant milestone for our fund.”

Danny Durkan, Executive Chairman at Durkan, which is a family-owned firm focused on London and the Home Counties, said: “Smaller developers have the necessary flexibility and agility to take up opportunities and sites that don’t appeal to mainstream developers, and this will be key to delivery. We have been working closely with HGP to secure this agreement and are confident in a successful joint venture. It is hoped that, now there is a structure in place between Durkan and HGP, further deals may be formed in this way.”

Others that have benefited from Housing Growth Partnership also include Campbell Buchanan, a Cambridgeshire-based housebuilder, which secured £1.7m last year to help fund the development of 40 homes in Brington. Devonshire Homes in the South West also secured £2m for various projects.

For more information on how Housing Growth Partnership can help you, visit our investment structure page.

Housing Growth Partnership has been shortlisted as a finalist at the National Housing Awards 2017 in the ‘Best Supplier to the Sector’ category.  The well-respected awards return for an 11^th year to celebrate excellence within the industry.

The ‘Best supplier to the Sector’ category recognises organisations that stand out for their exceptional service and instrumental assistance for affordable housing developments to achieve their goals as well as having a positive impact to the intermediate housing sector as a whole.

HGP has made a significant impact in its first year of trading; helping small housebuilders across the country deliver over 1,200 family homes across 24 schemes. We also accelerated over £20m of profit for our partners, which can be redeployed in funding more affordable homes.

HGP has been shortlisted alongside some big and reputable names within the housebuilding industry; Red Loft, Civitas Social Housing, EMW Law LLP, Forty Asset Management and Integrator Housing Solutions.

We would like to congratulate all other finalists for their nominations. The event will be held on 7^th September at the Lancaster Hotel in London.  Wish us luck!

Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) has been shortlisted at RESI Awards 2017 as ‘Newcomer of the Year’. The prestigious awards, organised by Property Week, celebrate success within the residential property market industry.

In our first year of trading we have made a considerable impact, successfully funding the build of over 1,000 family homes on over 20 schemes throughout the UK. Through our investment we have helped accelerate over £20m of small housebuilder profits which can be redeployed into more schemes to increase the UK housing supply. Our senior advisor panel has delivered over 1,000 hours of free mentoring to our small housebuilder partners to help support the sustainable growth of their businesses.

Described as the key celebratory and networking event for the sector, previous winners include Knight Frank, Strutt & Parker and Ballymore Group, placing HGP alongside some of the biggest names in the industry.

The Resi Awards ceremony will be on the 10^th of May 2017 at Grosvenor House in London.  Other shortlisted companies in the Newcomer category include: PLATFORM_, Conductor, The Land Trust, Oakmont Homes and Tipi, by Quintain. HGP wishes all of the companies luck and looks forward to meeting you on the night!

 

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published its White Paper ‘Fixing our broken housing market’. In the white paper the government announces its strategy and commitment to build 225,000 to 275,000 new homes to keep up with the demand and tackle years of under supply.

We have highlighted a sample of some of the assurances that the Government has made:

The government recognises that the current pace of development is too slow; reason for this is planning permission is currently not up to speed, more than a third of new homes that were granted in 2010/11 have yet to be built. A speedier process is much needed to keep up with demand and the government has announced investment in making the planning system more open and accessible.

Currently the market is dominated by large house developers whilst we also need SME housebuilders to tackle the housing crisis. The government is backing small and medium sized builders by its recently launched Home Building Fund. The report also covers improving the availability of data about wider interests in land; a survey has found that SMEs often find it hard to acquire land for instance.

Housing Growth Partnership was also mentioned in the white paper as a new player helping to provide funds to SMEs.

HGP will continue to help SME housebuilders around the country, if you are interested in growing and looking for investment speak to us and find out how we can help.

 

Skills shortages are likely to worsen in 2017 with the uncertainty of Brexit on the immediate horizon. Along with the increased workload, employers must take responsibility by taking on apprentices, not only men but also women.

Why take on an apprentice?
Apprenticeships are proven to deliver benefits to your company. A government report states 70% of employers reported that apprenticeships improved the quality of their product or service and that the costs for training will pay itself back within 2 years through increased productivity of the former apprentice.

In comparison to other countries, England is falling behind. For example, in Australia 30% of employers employ apprentices, in comparison with 15% in England.

Requirements on getting an apprentice
The government is actively encouraging employers to take on apprentices and is even offering grants of up to £1500, as well as funding for your apprentice’s qualification.

During their placement year you are required to offer your apprentice at least the National Minimum Wage, as well the ability for them to learn job specific skills and the opportunity to study for a work-based qualification during the working week.

How do you hire an apprentice?
1. Take a look at the apprenticeship framework and choose a suitable level.
2. Find a training organisation that will organise your apprentice’s training, qualification and assessment.
3. Your training organisation will help you find the right apprentice, however advertising this on your website and social media will help you find the right candidate.
4. Found a suitable candidate? Offering an apprenticeship agreement is just like an employee’s contract and will state the length of placement, training outline, work conditions, salary and qualifications that they are working towards.

A recent report has shown that London construction firms are amongst the worst for recruiting apprentices. Currently 96% of apprentices are taken by white men;  women and ethnic minorities are falling behind. With employers struggling to find the right skills for the job, the government has introduced a scheme which will increase the quality and quantity of apprenticeships in England.

More information about apprenticeships can be found: https://www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice/overview
or phone the National Apprenticeship Service on 0800 015 0600.

We are giving you six reasons that will hopefully convince your customers that buying a new-build home over an existing property is a brilliant idea.

1. Help-to-buy scheme available to first-time buyers
   The help-to-buy equity scheme, which was introduced by the government, will remain in place in England until 2020. This incentive will help first-time home buyers with a 5% deposit, with the government lending the homebuyer up to 20% (40% in London). The scheme is only available to new-build homes, making them an attractive option for first-time buyers.
2. Chain-free acquisition
   One of the key benefits of buying a new-build is that your customers don’t have to wait until the current owner has found a suitable place to live or get their mortgage sorted – this process can be time consuming and if your customers are looking to move within a set period of time a new-build could be the answer to a stress-free move.
3. More energy efficient
   New homes are often better insulated, which could save the consumer hundreds of pounds a year.
4. Ability to customise
   Not keen on that current kitchen or bathroom? With new build homes your customers are often able to customise them to their liking.
5. New properties generally come with guarantees
   The property should come with a 10-year structural warranty. Some housebuilders are, in addition, offering incentives such as BLP’s housing warranty insurance.
6. Maintenance costs should be very minimal in the first years of moving into the new-build property; this will set your customer’s mind at ease.

Speak to us and find out how we can support you in delivering more new-build homes.