Sign up to the Built Offsite Newsletter
Please turn your device to portrait.
Administrators cite plant theft and sales delays as major setbacks to recovering Ilke’s Homes assets.
Administrators have recovered £5.1 million (AUD $9.7 million) from the collapsed modular home builder Ilke Homes, but Homes England – which loaned the company £69 million (AUD $131 million) – is expected to see just £126,423 (AUD $240,000) returned.
The final report by liquidator AlixPartners shows that, despite being Ilke’s only secured creditor, Homes England will receive a minimal portion of the funds recovered from three Ilke entities: Ilke Homes Ltd, Ilke Homes Land Ltd, and Ilke Homes Holdings Ltd. Most of the £5.1 million will instead go to three companies – KM Modular Housing, CF ILK Investments LP, and Whitehorse Holdings – that provided emergency finance of £5 million (AUD $9.5 million) to Ilke in May 2023, just weeks before its collapse.
A subordination deed between the parties gave these lenders priority over Homes England for any recoveries. As a result, £128,423 (AUD $244,000) recovered through Ilke Homes Ltd will bypass the government agency.
Additional recoveries include £4.9 million (AUD $9.3 million) from Ilke Homes Land Ltd and £98,000 (AUD $186,000) from Ilke Homes Holdings Ltd. But even this does little to improve the outlook for Homes England, which was initially projected to recover up to £4.3 million (AUD $8.2 million). Most of that projection has now been absorbed by the senior-ranking private lenders.
Ilke Homes collapsed in June 2023, citing a failure to secure new investment. The business had received a substantial loan from Homes England in 2019 to support its expansion plans and scale modular housing delivery across the UK.
The fallout from the administration has left unsecured creditors facing significant losses. Of the £308.5 million (AUD $585.4 million) owed to suppliers and other parties, just £827,270 (AUD $1.57 million) is expected to be returned.
Asset recovery was hampered by theft from one of Ilke’s factories and difficulties selling completed modules. However, administrators did secure sales of Ilke-owned land in Milton Keynes and Birmingham for £11 million (AUD $20.9 million) and £1 million (AUD $1.9 million), respectively.
In April 2024, former Homes England chief Peter Denton defended the investment, stating it was part of the agency’s remit to intervene where the market fails, acknowledging that such investments carry an inherent risk of loss.
