Persimmon is investing £25 million into modular housebuilder TopHat as part of a funding round which will enable the business to accelerate delivery of its factory-built homes.
The investment – which will help raise £70 million in total – will establish a strategic partnership between the two businesses and provide guaranteed access to both TopHat’s brick façade product as well as its modular homes. In addition to its existing facility in Derby, TopHat is due to open Europe’s largest modular housing factory in Corby, Northamptonshire, with a capacity of 4,000 homes a year in 2024.
Persimmon, meanwhile, aims to capture the benefits of TopHat’s manufacturing techniques to support its future volume growth, drive further build efficiencies, expand its product offering to customers and support its moves to meet the Future Homes Standard.
Furthermore, the company has also identified an opportunity to incorporate TopHat’s brick façade system into its own Space4 timber frame housing product. This will help Persimmon develop its own products further for customers.
Dean Finch, group chief executive of Persimmon, said: “Persimmon is delighted to announce this partnership with TopHat, which brings together the skills of the country’s most innovative modular homes manufacturer with those of the UK’s most cost-effective volume house builder.
“Our partnership will provide Persimmon with guaranteed access to TopHat’s highly energy-efficient volumetric modular homes and its innovative brick façade system, which has significant potential within our own Space4 timber frame business. This new relationship will help support our future volume growth, provide further build efficiencies, help address the growing challenge of labour shortages in key trades and give us access to TopHat’s leading-edge green technologies.
“The combination of our complementary industry-leading capabilities with significant new investment will create many exciting opportunities for both businesses in the years ahead.”
