Allison Homes South West has secured land and development deals worth £85 million in just eight working days, underlining the housebuilder’s appetite for growth despite challenging economic conditions.
The run of activity came over the scorching Summer, comprising multiple new development sites being acquired across the region and entering into a development agreement to provide 150 new affordable homes in Landkey, North Devon.
Just 12 months after establishing a new Bristol office, in addition to its existing Tiverton office, Allison Homes South West now has a regional development pipeline of over 1,100 plots, worth circa £350 million in development turnover, with deals agreed to push the pipeline towards 2,000 plots in the coming months.
The launch of the Bristol office was the beginning of a new journey for the company with an extended operational area that spans from Worcester to Exeter, and from Bristol to Swindon. The housebuilder’s pace of activity reflects its strategy of continuing to pursue land and development opportunities, despite a market characterised by higher borrowing costs and continuing uncertainty across the property and construction sectors. Rather than retrenching in response to these conditions, Allison Homes South West has continued to invest in its regional pipeline, with these most recent acquisitions expected to support its next phase of growth.
James Morgan, Land and Partnerships Director at Allison Homes South West, said: “The summer was extraordinary for us. While temperatures were reaching record highs, so did our regional development activity – we secured around £85 million of deals in just eight working days.
“The wider market certainly remains challenging, but our approach is to embrace that rather than shy away from it. In practice that means identifying the right opportunities, applying a positive acquisition strategy, moving quickly to make decisions and demonstrating to landowners and agents that we’re serious about getting deals done. We are continuing to invest where we believe there is a strong underlying case for our mixed tenure development strategy.
“There is no question that the industry is operating in a tougher economic environment, but there is still a significant need for new housing of all tenures in the South West, together with a steady flow of good land opportunities available. We intend to keep pursuing them.”
Glyn Mabey, Regional Managing Director at Allison Homes South West, commented:
“Having historically been a largely Devon-based business, we refocused our strategy to target more populated centres, which inevitably meant expanding into the north of the West of England patch, specifically the M5 and M4 corridors of Worcester to Exeter, Bristol to Swindon.
“Over the last year, we established a new senior management team, including myself and five new directors. We opened an office at Aztec West, Bristol, in addition to our Tiverton office, and established a second-tier management group in the business to help drive growth and create succession paths. I am full of admiration for the way the whole South West team has pulled together, despite this being one of the most challenging residential development environments I have seen in a near 40-year career.
“This year has laid the foundations for our five-year business plan, and we continue to be hungry for land in well-populated areas in the range of 50-500 plots. We are also continuing to expand our activities with RPs and Single Family Housing PRS providers and would welcome interest from potential partners.”
This latest regional expansion forms part of wider growth at Allison Homes. The housebuilder recently secured a £165 million finance facility with HSBC, NatWest and Homes England to support continued development across the East of England, the Midlands and the South West.
This combination of new land investment, an expanding development pipeline and access to additional finance leaves the company well positioned to continue growing its South West operation.