origins

In 2020, a UK housing and local government select committee identified the need to build 90,000 social rent affordable homes per year (National Housing Federation), yet the UK has delivered less than 10,000 social rent homes per year for the last 10 years. Mainstream house building has consistently failed to deliver on government targets by c. 50,000 low per annum, while the National Housing Federation advise that the Govt targets should be increased further 40,000 indicating a shortage of 90,000 per annum. It has often been criticised for a lack of quality in build and design and the UK has some of the highest build costs in Europe. The industry has been slow to embrace environmental improvements, with companies lobbying to delay the implementation of carbon reduction measures. The planning and building regulations system relies on inefficient and repetitive verification of building detail and performance, which could instead be dealt with at the source in factory conditions. This has to change if we are to tackle the pandoras box of issues -- housing, quality, environment and cost. The UK self-build industry is 7-10% of the market yet in Austria it is 80%. Regulations and stagnant industry approaches restrict this opportunity, yet a truly modular system with customisation options could significantly increase this market. The Gov has identified need to increase small developer housing. 2020 London Plan is 23% (12,000 PA). All the current offerings in the Modular Housing Sector are not truly modular. They are typically bespoke, manufactured off-site and delivered in large semi-completed blocks. This approach has significant limitations, limits scalability and is reliant on lifting equipment and a large and skilled workforce. The industry is ready for a step change in technology.