Offsite & MMC

Tide Construction has reported a fall in pre-tax profit despite an 11 per cent jump in revenue.  The London-based company, which specialises in building high-density residential schemes using modular methods, has reported a pre-tax profit of £7.1m for the year ending 31 August 2023 - down from £11.1m a year…

Failed industry disruptor Urban Splash House is to go into liquidation, more than two years after collapsing into administration. The move marks the final step in the winding-up of the modular-build specialist, and could bring certain suppliers closer to receiving some of the cash they are owed. Spun out of…

TopHat managing director Andrew Shepherd is to leave the troubled modular housebuilder, it has emerged. The former Laing O’Rourke chief posted on professional networking site LinkedIn that he would be “moving on to a new challenge”. TopHat announced in February that it was consulting on up to 70 job cuts,…

Reece Lake is head of business operations at property finance firm Atelier The UK’s housing shortfall urgently requires creative solutions. Offsite construction has long been held up as a way to address it, given its potential to construct schemes efficiently and at speed. However, if it is to play a…

UK taxpayers have lost £2.6m due to the collapse of modern methods of construction (MMC) specialist Modulous, which has now gone into liquidation. The startup, which was formed in 2018, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators in January, having laid off its staff at the beginning of December.…

Kier has announced that it will help develop small modular reactors (SMR) with US firm X-Energy. The contractor has signed a memorandum of understanding with X-Energy and Babcock subsidiary Cavendish Nuclear to collaborate on the new technology. The firms will have access to £3.34m from the UK Government Future Nuclear…

Modular housebuilder TopHat has halted work on its 60,000 square metre manufacturing site in the South Midlands due to “market conditions”. The firm had initially said the Corby factory would be operational last year but its latest announcement leaves uncertainty as to when the long-promised facility will finally be ready.…

A House of Lords committee failed to find a reason for the recent offsite failures In 2019, Nick Walkley, then chief executive of Homes England, announced a £30m loan for modular builder Ilke Homes. At the time, he said: “There is huge, untapped potential to unleash by creating more capacity…

Suzanne Peters is a research associate at Alliance Manchester Business School Much ink has been spilled chronicling the UK’s shortage of suitable housing options, with even more spent considering the best ways in which it could be tackled. One option often in the spotlight is so-called modern methods of construction…

Northumberland-based offsite specialist Merit Holdings Ltd has reported strong turnover and pre-tax profit growth in its latest annual accounts. Revenue reached £94.3m for the year ending 30 June 2023, marking a 48 per cent year-on-year increase compared with the 2021/22 total of £63.7m. Turnover in 2020/21 was £41.8m. In his…