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SME housebuilders face tough battle ahead as growth and delivery projections fall. A new survey by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Close Brothers Property Finance.

One of the most comprehensive surveys of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) housebuilders, conducted by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Close Brothers Property Finance, has found that:

Two thirds of SME housebuilders (65%) have said their growth projections are down due to COVID-19

76% of SMEs use Help to Buy and the regional thresholds are expected to prove to be a barrier, with a number of respondents highlighting challenges in their specific regions

Planning delays and securing permission remain a major barrier to housing delivery over the next 12 months, according to 83% of respondents

Place North West | Development finance: a mixed landscape | Video + Summary
The Covid-19 pandemic has made lenders more wary, skewing the market in favour of larger developers with proven track records at the expense of SMEs, according to a panel of experts at Place North West’s latest event.. The event, Development Finance, was sponsored by lender Close Brothers Property Finance and law firm Kuits Solicitors and attracted more than 250 live viewers.

Business Development Director Richard Hemmings in a recent article for Place North West discusses the role which Housebuilders have in moving the economy forwards.

The Government’s recently announced two month extension on the current Help to Buy scheme, which extends the completion deadline for the homes to have been finished in order to comply with the equity loan scheme, is good news for the industry and safe guards a number of new home sales which were at risk from not completing in time for the December 2020 deadline. While we do hope the Government will go further and extend the current scheme beyond February, we are glad they did listen to us and the wider industry. See below for our calls for an extension during the Summer statement:

Daniel Joyce, Director at Close Brothers Property Finance talks to Beth Fisher at Development Finance Today about why it is important for developers to be flexible when it comes to their post-lockdown business planning.

Showhouse Magazine article: Meet the builder, the banker and the bathroom maker. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker missed the video call.