The Housing Growth Partnership will invest alongside smaller builders in new developments, providing money to support their businesses. It is intended to help get workers onto sites and increase housing supply.
The Partnership will also establish a network of builders, including experienced developers, who will act as mentors and advisers to those looking to expand and grow their businesses.
In the last 25 years, the number of firms building between 1 and 100 units a year has fallen from over 12,000 to fewer than 3,000, according to the Department for Communities & Local Government.
The latest housebuilding figures show starts have more than doubled since those seen during the same period in 2009 鈥� with both starts and completions rising in the past year and the number of homes granted planning permission are at the highest annual total for 8 years.
The government has matched a 拢50m investment from Lloyds Banking Group to create the 拢100m Housing Growth Partnership, which will be used to help smaller builders to invest in new projects and develop their businesses. It is aimed at allowing them to recruit and train skilled workers and become more competitive in their local area.
The partnership expects to make around 50 investments, with the aim to provide an additional 2,000 homes.
Lewis said: 鈥淭he 2008 economic crash devastated our army of small builders, with delivery falling from 44,000 homes to just 18,000 鈥� 7 years on, companies are getting back on their feet but we鈥檙e determined to give them all the help they need. Access to finance is one of the biggest challenges they face 鈥� so that鈥檚 why today I鈥檓 launching this 拢100 million commitment which will help our smaller builders fund new projects, expand their businesses, create more jobs and build more homes.鈥�
Andrew Bester, group director and chief executive, commercial banking, Lloyds Banking Group said: 鈥淭he challenge of housing supply and affordability is one of the biggest issues facing Britain today, so we at Lloyds Banking Group welcome the government鈥檚 announcement of support for the Housing Growth Partnership, which will double the capability to support SME house builders. It will provide SME house builders with much needed equity to support residential development projects, to stimulate growth in their businesses and facilitate access to conventional property development finance.鈥�
Federation of Master Builders chief executive Brian Berry said: 鈥淭here has been a sharp decline in the numbers and output of SME house builders over the past 8 years. One of the biggest obstacles these firms have faced is a severe difficulty in accessing finance. Without adequate access to finance they cannot bring forward the number of new homes they would otherwise.鈥�
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