Hundreds of homes are on hold in Nottinghamshire after a housebuilder was put up for sale. Ilke Homes, which produces factory-built modular properties, was in the process of building 131 homes for housing association Jigsaw Homes Group at Rolleston Drive in Arnold, but this work has halted after the company announced it was seeking a buyer.
The Yorkshire-based housebuilder had also been chosen as Boots' partner to deliver 604 homes near to the health and wellbeing giant's Thane Road complex - with the project only recently being approved by Nottingham City Council and Broxtowe Borough Council. Ilke Homes explained it was looking for a sale as "volatile macro-economic conditions and issues with the planning system" had complicated fundraising and housing delivery, with Nottinghamshire Live understanding staff had been taken off work sites temporarily.
The business said a sale would allow it to deliver the 4,200-homes in its pipeline. It warned that its £1 billion order book is predominantly made up of affordable homes, meaning that without a new investor, the "much-needed housing" will not be delivered.
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Jigsaw Homes Group, which planned to be managing more than 100 of these homes when Ilke Homes finished and handed over the Rolleston Drive development in the future, said the "difficult situation" was being discussed with Gedling Borough Council. “This is a difficult situation for all concerned but it is unfortunately beyond our control," a spokesperson said.
“We have been informed that work at Rolleston Drive is on hold temporarily while ilke Homes negotiates with investors, but until then we have no further information. We appreciate this is upsetting for those people who have been allocated and reserved homes.
"We have been working with Gedling Borough Council to let them know the situation and to offer people advice around their options, based on their individual circumstances. We do hope that the work will be completed so we can provide these much-needed affordable homes.”
Whilst the development near Boots' Thane Road facility is not at the same stage of construction, the Nottinghamshire-based business had previously said it was "delighted to partner with Ilke Homes to develop this site to provide high-quality, affordable and energy-efficient housing for people in the local area".
Boots had also added "it was vital that we find the right partner" for the site due to its historical importance. The company declined to comment on what the housebuilder's current difficulties could mean for the project.
In a recent statement, Ilke Homes said it and advisers have been exploring fundraising options and the existing backers are hopeful of securing a future for the business via a sale or investment, allowing it to deliver thousands of homes and protect its workforce. It added: "Ilke’s factory harnesses digital design and precision-manufacturing techniques to produce NHBC-accredited homes that are zero-carbon in operation and well-designed.
"The company has delivered the UK’s first-ever homes to guarantee residents no energy bills as part of its ZERO Bills offering, which was launched as part of a pioneering partnership with Octopus Energy Group in 2022.
"In 2020, ilke Homes launched its turnkey development offering, where the company acquires land, secures planning permission and develops the site. This has been complicated by uncertainty over planning policy and rising build costs.
"While having delivered strong contribution margins, ilke Homes now requires new investment to meet overheads, achieve further scale and become cash flow positive."
Ilke Homes argued the wider UK housing market has been hit by rapidly rising interest rates, which it said had reduced demand and resulted in housing starts falling below pre-pandemic levels. It also cited government figures showing planning applications had fallen to the lowest level in at least 16 years, which the company attributed to "uncertainty over planning policy and heightened build costs".
Ilke Homes' had to apologise to residents near to the Rolleston Drive site earlier this month after a crane had to reposition the load of one lorry after it slipped off on Thackeray's Lane in Woodthorpe. Another of the lorries then had to be halted again at around 6.30pm on Sandfield Road, with the second incident causing damage to a car.
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