Small housebuilders are set to benefit from a £100 million cash boost to recognise and support their important role in keeping the country building, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said today (July 6th).
The Housing Growth Partnership aims to invest alongside smaller builders in new developments, providing money to support their businesses, helping get workers onto sites and increasing housing supply.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “The 2008 economic crash devastated our army of small builders, with delivery falling from 44,000 homes to just 18,000 – 7 years on, companies are getting back on their feet but we’re determined to give them all the help they need.”
The government has matched a £50 million investment from Lloyds Banking Group to create the £100 million Housing Growth Partnership, which will be used to help smaller builders to invest in new projects and develop their businesses, allowing them to recruit and train skilled workers and become more competitive in their local area.
“Access to finance is one of the biggest challenges they face,” continued Mr. Lewis, “ so that’s why today I’m launching this £100 million commitment which will help our smaller builders fund new projects, expand their businesses, create more jobs and build more homes.”
The partnership expects to make around 50 investments, with the aim to provide an additional 2,000 homes.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of Federation of Master Builders, said: “There has been a sharp decline in the numbers and output of SME house builders over the past 8 years. One of the biggest obstacles these firms have faced is a severe difficulty in accessing finance. Without adequate access to finance they cannot bring forward the number of new homes they would otherwise.”
Andrew Bester, Group Director and Chief Executive, Commercial Banking, Lloyds Banking Group said: “The challenge of housing supply and affordability is one of the biggest issues facing Britain today, so we at Lloyds Banking Group welcome the government’s announcement of support for the Housing Growth Partnership, which will double the capability to support SME house builders. It will provide SME house builders with much needed equity to support residential development projects, to stimulate growth in their businesses and facilitate access to conventional property development finance.”
The Housing Growth Partnership will support residential development projects with a gross development value of between £0.75 million and £12 million and will offer investments in the range of £0.5 – £5 million for each project.
