2 minute read - 7th December 2022
ilke Homes to open new factory after £100m investment
Modular housing manufacturer ilke Homes has raised a record-breaking £100m from new and existing shareholders following successive years of triple-digit growth.
The new funding – the largest-ever raised by a UK modular housebuilder – will help the company to significantly scale-up its operations and open a new manufacturing facility that, once operational, will increase the company’s output capacity to 4,000 homes a year, creating over 1,000 new jobs in the UK.
The investment will also allow the company to invest heavily in automating more of its manufacturing processes to further drive productivity. This will in turn enable ilke to secure more sites and expand its ‘package deal’ strategy, which offers full development service of land, infrastructure and homes in a rapidly growing market.
The funding round was led by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, an American investment management firm. Existing investors TDR Capital and Sun Capital also subscribed to the latest round, which was arranged by investment bank Citigroup.
ilke Homes, which has seen revenue grow by over 150 percent year-on-year, is already working with some of the UK’s biggest developers and investors, including global asset manager Man Group, FTSE 250-listed housebuilder Vistry Group, and housing association Places for People. Despite being founded just five years ago, the firm is now delivering over 1,000 homes a year and has secured a pipeline of over 4,000 homes, putting it on par with some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders.
Giles Carter, CEO at ilke Homes, said: “Our latest fundraise demonstrates that the private sector is increasingly recognising the investment case for change. With the race to net zero well and truly underway, the next few years will be a decisive time in the history of housebuilding, so it’s important that true market disruptors are empowered to play a leading role.
“Having pioneered a zero carbon, zero energy bills solution in partnership with Octopus Energy and Gresham House, the new monies will allow us to roll out our proven concept across the country and shield consumers from the cost of living crisis. By investing to increase our manufacturing capacity, we will also create hundreds of skilled, green jobs.”
In June, ilke Homes launched a world-first partnership with Octopus Energy and Gresham House that is rolling out the UK’s first homes to guarantee residents zero energy bills. The three firms are partnering on a site in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex where ilke Homes is delivering a 153-home scheme. 101 of these homes will be zero carbon in operation – the most delivered on a single site in the UK – meaning they will generate their own source of energy, helping to drastically reduce emissions produced by utilities such as electricity and heating.
Branded ZERO bills, the ground-breaking offering, is being launched as part of ilke ZERO – the UK’s first mainstream zero carbon housing offering which is aiming to drastically cut carbon emissions from housing whilst insulating consumers and taxpayers from the cost of living crisis.