SME housebuilders invited to apply to Levelling Up Home Building Fund

Homes England is inviting SME housebuilders to apply to the Levelling Up Home Building Fund to help meet development costs.

The Levelling Up Home Building Fund is designed for housebuilders that are struggling to access finance from traditional lenders, and can offer loans tailored to individual circumstances for properties either for sale or for rent.

Financing can also be used to support community-led housing projects, serviced plots for custom and self-builders, off-site manufacturing, new entrants to the market and groups of small firms working in consortia to deliver larger sites.

Yorkshire-based V&A Homes is among the smaller housebuilders to have made use of the Levelling Up Home Building Fund, which helped financed a nine-home scheme in Knaresborough. Victoria Denman, Managing Director of V&A Homes said:

“We first worked with Homes England after agreeing a land deal to bring our first development to market. From the outset I found the experience of working with the team extremely supportive. I was guided with care and consideration through the process and given reassurance at all stages. We are now working on a scheme which will deliver 60 homes – our biggest project to date. We wouldn’t have grown as we have without the great partnership we have developed with the agency.“

The Levelling Up Home Building Fund can help businesses that:

• are a UK-registered corporate entity or limited liability partnership
• plan to build five or more homes on a site in England
• have a controlling interest in the land, with outline planning permission in place

Further guidance about the fund, eligibility and how to apply can be found on the government website.