Places for People signs up for £100m modular housing deal

Modular homes manufacturer Ilke Homes and regeneration specialist Places for People have signed a joint venture agreement to deliver 750 factory-built homes in a deal believed to be worth £100m.

Places for People, which owns or manages nearly 200,000 homes across the UK, said it would purchase 750 units from Ilke Homes, including 500 for sites it already owns, together with 250 for new schemes.

The homes, which will be steel-framed, are to be made at Ilke Homes’ factory near Knaresborough in North Yorkshire and then delivered on site.

No timescale has been given for when the first homes will be put up.

Housing minister and Tory party leader contender Kit Malthouse said of the deal: “This is excellent news as the UK blazes a trail in the modern methods of construction that are transforming home building.”

According to its last financial report 45% of Places for People’s £754m turnover in 2018 came from affordable housing, and as at last year it had 19,000 homes in its pipeline.

Ilke Homes is owned by private equity firm TDR Capital.