Splash strikes deals with Sekisui and Homes England
Japanese housebuilder Sekisui has made its first move into the UK market after taking a 35% stake in Urban Splash’s modular House business, while Splash has also secured £30m from Homes England.
The deal sees Sekisui put £22m into House, and forms part of a £90m investment which includes £30m of equity and debt funding from the Home Building Fund, administered by Homes England, £35m of equity demerged from the wider Urban Splash Group, and around £3m from We Buy Any Car founder Noel McKee, who will also be taking a 5% stake.
JLL and Eversheds Sutherland advised Urban Splash on the deal.
Sekisui House is one of world’s largest homebuilders with more than two million homes sold to date, and is listed on both the Tokyo and Nagoya Stock Exchanges. The company specialises in modern methods of construction.
Yoshihiro Nakai, president and representative director of Sekisui House said: “Using modern methods of construction to build high quality homes with short build times is one of our company’s great strengths. Our technology and know-how can help resolve pressing social issues in the UK, and I want to see us play our part effective immediately. These operations can also help bring vitality to UK regions, and we will work to make the strongest connections with the local communities.”
Tom Bloxham, chairman of Urban Splash, said: “We hope to leverage our 25 years of place-making experience and our recent investments into modular housing by bringing in new partners; having looked far and wide we chose Sekisui House from Japan because of the company’s unrivalled global experience in modular construction and shared values and philosophy that we are making homes not units, and a joint belief in the need for a green future.”
Sir Ed Lister, chairman of Homes England, said: “When Homes England launched last year we said we’d disrupt the housing market to increase the pace of construction. By helping bring one of the world’s largest and most innovative housebuilders to UK shores, we’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
Fair play to Splash, they’ve always known how to pull the levers of public money. Big future in modular building, given that if Brexit goes through we will have massive shortages in traditional construction skills.
By John Smith
I’m constantly sceptical of system building primarily because of the private sector’s dismal history in the form and also that it maybe trying to treat the symptoms of the nation’s housing problems. the savings on build will just ultimately be translated into higher land prices. But from a skills and carbon neutral perspective it needs looking at.
By Sceptic
Splash once again on the cutting edge of Residential delivery but, would it have worked without Homes England having injected £30m of Tax Payer’s money and how many Affordable Homes could have been built on Local Authority Land with that £30m;- 250 – 300 ?
By Tha' Knows