Three major modular firms appointed to social landlords’ £600m framework

An alliance of housing associations has selected three of the UK’s largest modular manufacturers to deliver its first offsite homes framework.

An alliance of housing associations has selected three of the UK’s largest modular manufacturers to deliver its first offsite homes framework #UKhousing

Building Better, a National Housing Federation (NHF)-backed group of 29 social landlords, has signed up Ilke Homes, Impact Modular and TopHat to the volumetric framework, which is worth £600m over five years.

The providers, which collectively plan to deliver at least 800 homes through the framework, will be able to use it to procure pre-manufactured 3D construction systems for houses and flats.

Procurement for Housing delivered the framework, which is estimated to save each provider roughly £15,000 in procurement costs.

All homes procured via the framework will meet the government’s Future Homes Standard and will take a ‘fabric-first’ approach, meaning insulation will be prioritised ahead of add-ons such as solar panels.

The homes will be certified by the Buildoffsite Property Assurance Scheme and be assessed and accepted by building warranty provider the National House Building Council.

In addition to the 800 homes being delivered through the framework, Building Better’s members plan to deliver a further 4,500 homes using modern methods of construction (MMC) by 2026.

Trina Chakravarti, project director of Building Better, said:

“In the past, housing associations, local authorities and manufacturers have often gone through the MMC process alone – there is no aggregation of knowledge or resources, and mistakes are repeated.
“We want to change this through early, honest partnership-working between social housing providers, manufacturers and residents, sharing information and learning together to improve MMC and overcome traditional barriers.”

Steve Malone, chief executive at Procurement for Housing, said:

“By assessing the MMC market, narrowing the field and appointing just three manufacturers, our goal was to reduce much of the due diligence and procurement complexity that housing associations and local authorities often face around MMC.
“Ilke Homes, Impact Modular and TopHat all impressed us with their commitment to the collaborative ethos of this framework.
“For them, involving residents and working closely with housing providers is key to continually improving their MMC offer.”

This article was first published in Inside Housing on 15 July 2021

Membership of Building Better is open to any housing association or local authority housing provider in England and Wales.