Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has announced that small house builders will benefit from a £100m cash boost. Mr Lewis said the funding is to recognise and support their important role in keeping the country building.

It was announced that the Housing Growth Partnership will act as a dedicated initiative to invest in new developments, alongside smaller builders, and provide money to support their businesses. The Government said the Housing Growth Partnership will help small builders to play their part in a long-term house building strategy. It has matched a £50m investment from Lloyds Banking Group to create the £100m Housing Growth Partnership.

The Partnership will establish a network of builders, including experienced developers, who will act as mentors and advisers to those looking to expand and grow their businesses.

The partnership expects to make around 50 investments and provide an additional 2,000 homes. The Housing Growth Partnership seeks to invest alongside small and medium sized house builders who have evidence of a solid track record in delivering residential development schemes. It will be house builders who on average have 10-100 single unit completions annually over the past three years, and have a proven track record in land buying, design, construction, marketing and sales of new homes.

The Housing Growth Partnership will support residential development projects with a gross development value of between £0.75m and £12m and will offer investments in the range of £0.5m – £5m for each project.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:

“The 2008 economic crash devastated our army of small builders, with delivery falling from 44,000 homes to just 18,000 – seven years on, companies are getting back on their feet but we’re determined to give them all the help they need.

“Access to finance is one of the biggest challenges they face – so that’s why today I’m launching this £100m commitment which will help our smaller builders fund new projects, expand their businesses, create more jobs and build more homes.

“With housing starts at a seven-year high and climbing and homes granted planning permission at 261,000 – the highest since 2007, this work will ensure we maintain this momentum and keep the country building.”