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Goldman Sachs investment in TopHat’s 60,000m2 modular factory underscores confidence in the industry’s future.
Undeterred by the impending closure of L&G Modular Homes, TopHat’s modular housing factory, scheduled to be the largest in Europe and underwritten by Goldman Sachs, is pressing ahead with their new mega-modular housing factory situated in Corby, UK.
The new modular housing plant is forecast to produce enough prefabricated components for 4,000 homes per year, compared to the 800 homes it can produce annually at its Derby facility.
The rising demand for modular housing is due to its “certainty of outcome,” TopHat’s Managing Director, Andrew Shepherd, explains. As much of the construction work is done in a factory, it has “significantly better certainty of outcomes on projects.”
The speed of building is another attraction, with TopHat capable of constructing a habitable house from order to installation in just two to three weeks, compared to the minimum 18 weeks for a traditionally-built house.
TopHat also emphasises sustainability in its construction methods, offering 22 different house types and seven different apartment types that can achieve net zero carbon in operations.
The company uses a fabric-first approach, maximising the performance of materials to ensure high levels of energy efficiency. It also incorporates an air source heat pump to provide the heating and hot water required, which generates most of its energy from solar panels.
To achieve ultra-low embodied carbon, TopHat uses low-carbon products such as timber and uses 3D printed bricks, developed as alternatives to high-carbon materials such as concrete.
Andrew Shepherd, Managing Director, says, “TopHat’s patented technology means our products can be tailored so they can meet the local design requirements of a particular place. Much like the automotive and aviation sectors – or with the wardrobes you may buy in IKEA – the fundamental parts can be produced en-masse with high levels of quality assurance.”
TopHat’s technology allows such parts to be customised, meaning it maintains quality and speed of delivery without having identical towns up and down the country.
This is unique to TopHat and is a key point for our clients, as this means they can ask us to adjust our products to meet the requirements of local authorities and planning committees. TopHat also has a high level of automation in our manufacturing processes, which help deliver the high levels of tolerance and quality.”
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TopHat’s ‘sustainable’ modular housing also aligns with the emerging industry of sustainable finance. Specialist sustainable finance providers offer lower interest rates to borrowers who can demonstrate that their projects meet sustainability targets while being relatively low risk. This is driving people to demand a more sustainable product, which is “cheaper to fund.” Institutional investors are using what’s called “Article 9 Funds”, which are funds that have sustainable investment or a reduction in carbon emissions as its objective.
“Over the last 18 months to two years, I’ve seen sustainable finance become a really important thing. We know money talks and that money is now demanding sustainable outcomes,” he says. “That cheaper money is now driving people to put their hands up and say they want a more sustainable product because it’s cheaper to fund. With interest rates going up and the cost of finance going up, generally any saving is really important. It’s a key driver [for modular housing demand] at the moment,” Shepherd adds.
See: https://tophat.io/
