24 COMMENT
he says. However, as well as the top-down targets and the demand from some buyers for better performing houses, does he believe that some of the momentum for ‘green’ new builds needs to come from developers? Reeve insists that “the appetite for greener homes is there from both developers and purchasers” but “what is more acute, and what we are trying to focus on, is lower running costs. Lowering bills, that’s what our purchasers are really focused on.”
He continues that with mortgage rates still being higher than previously, this is currently the key issue affecting the buying market, and that focusing on the fabric of homes “and trying to take it a step further than the Building Regulations” is the goal.
VIABLE FUTURES With their solid range of experience, BRiCS are built for a resilient future,
provided some of the key moves which the industry has been crying out for on planning and targets are honoured at a central level. Reeve and team were acutely aware of the need to grow to a certain size before the market would take them seriously as a viable land purchaser for larger schemes. With schemes including a parcel of a site earmarked for SMEs now acquired from the Ministry of Defence, BRiCS are again looking to raise their game and broaden their scope for larger developments. They are well on the way to being a recognised name providing the in-demand, higher quality private sale schemes in key locations, and the proof will soon be evident. As a new SME, Reeve and colleagues are conscious of what he says are “horrifying statistics” around the amount of small and medium housebuilders that are currently operating, compared
with 20 years ago. He says that a key issue is resourcing to tackle the layers of regulations, “well intended but often at cross purposes,” from BNG to the Future Homes Standard: it “starts to require a large team of people.” This can be met by larger plcs, but for a small company it “becomes a lot more challenging.” That, plus the time schemes are taking, and the fi nancing issues, makes launching a new venture a task not for the faint hearted. So far, BRiCS are weathering the storms admirably, and Hugo Reeve says that its current private sale schemes “have the opportunity to be really well designed; they sit within design codes that are pushing the quality of design upwards.” Although working at the higher end of the market currently, this is one housebuilder that is helping counter the stigma of poor quality which has dogged parts of the industry for years.
BRICS “CHOOSES ITS ARCHITECTS VERY CAREFULLY, FOR EACH SCHEME TO HAVE THE RIGHT SKILL SET
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