Land deal as housebuilders to launch first dual-branded site

October 16, 2024

Contracts have been exchanged on a land deal in Wixams, Bedfordshire, which will mark a major milestone for Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes as it will be the first dual-branded development for the housebuilders.

The two brands were recently united under a new company, untypical, which is owned by the Hands Family Office and managed by Terra Firma, the European investment firm. untypical aims to become the UK’s most customer-centric housebuilder.

Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes will continue as the customer-facing brands, enabling untypical to dual-brand certain sites, with Wixams to be the first.

The land was purchased from L&Q Estates, now part of Master Developer Urban&Civic. It benefits from outline planning permission to build 168 homes, of which 65 will be built by Hopkins Homes, with a Reserved Matters application due to be submitted to Central Bedfordshire Council later this year. Construction is likely to begin in April 2025, subject to planning approval, with the first homes ready for customers in late 2025.
The proposal is due to include a mix of properties ranging from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom homes and will include 25 percent affordable housing provision, available through a Registered Provider.

The development parcel will also incorporate a central garden providing open green space for residents, which will form part of the wider Wixams social infrastructure, much of which is already in place provided by Urban&Civic.

It is the third parcel of land bought by Tilia Homes in Wixam, with its most recent homes at the site completed in 2022.

Gareth Jacob, Regional Managing Director for untypical’s Eastern region, said: “We are really looking forward to delivering our first dual-branded development. untypical’s mission is to focus on creating sustainable, inclusive communities, delivering homes across the UK that people want to live in, and we will continue to build the right homes, in the right places, for the right price.

“The purchase of this land is the latest demonstration of our commitment to completing significant land deals, increasing our portfolio, and delivering much-needed new homes.

“Land is the lifeblood of our business, and it has been a real collaboration to unlock this scheme. The business has been successful in building and selling from the Wixams development previously and our strong relationship with the Master Developer has again proved helpful in ensuring this acquisition progressed in a successful manner.”

James Mooney, Project Director at Urban&Civic, said: “We have been Master Developers at Wixams for over 15 years, investing more than £100m in community facilities, schools, infrastructure and making environmental improvements.

“We’re looking forward to these latest high-quality homes being built by both Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes and bringing more families to the area.”

The Wixams development has been under construction since early 2007 and is expected to become the third largest settlement in the Borough of Bedford. The wider site has outline planning permission for 4,500 new homes, with a mix of housing, employment, education, retail, health and leisure facilities.

The deal also follows Tilia Homes’ recent announcement that it has secured £125m in strategic sustainability-linked debt funding with HSBC UK and Homes England. The new loan facility will enable the housebuilder to expand its immediate land pipeline and deliver more than 1,250 quality homes each year.

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