This positive outlook reinforces MMC as a strategic response to UK construction challenges, delivering productivity gains, reduced environmental impact, and faster project completion across residential and healthcare projects.


As adoption accelerates through frameworks and policy alignment, the sector is well placed to contribute significantly to housing and infrastructure targets over the next five years. The prefabricated construction market experienced steady growth during 2020-2024 at 6.8% CAGR and is forecast to continue at 5.0% CAGR through 2029, driven by timber-led modular growth, NHS frameworks, and standardisation.


YPO appoints 29 firms to new Modular Buildings and MMC framework


YPO has launched its Modular Buildings and Modern Methods of Construction framework, appointing 29 specialist suppliers across 15 lots to provide a streamlined procurement route for UK public sector organisations.


The four-year agreement, running from March 2026 to March 2030 and fully compliant with the Procurement Act 2023, covers modular solutions for housing, healthcare, justice, education, and other applications. It includes separate provisions for purchase and hire options, with all suppliers meeting the Common Assessment Standard.


The framework offers public bodies — including local authorities, NHS trusts, and housing providers — efficient access to offsite and prefabricated buildings, helping to accelerate delivery while maintaining quality and sustainability standards. A total of 23 suppliers were appointed to the healthcare-focused lots alone, covering both purchase and hire models.


Several lots drew strong interest from bidders. The education purchase lot received 27 tenders and the bespoke purchase lot received 28, while healthcare purchase drew 23 bids.


Appointed suppliers include established names such as Portakabin, Premier Modular, McAvoy Modular Offsite, Thurston Group, Wernick Buildings, PKL Group, ModuleCo, and ZED Pods, alongside a wider mix of specialist providers. The biggest panels were on the bespoke purchase lot, with 23 suppliers appointed, and the education purchase lot, with 22.


Appointment of a broad supplier base is seen as a significant boost for the MMC sector. It gives manufacturers greater pipeline visibility, reduces administrative burdens for commissioners, and reflects growing adoption of modular techniques across public infrastructure.


Public-sector buyers can now access compliant, pre-approved suppliers for a wide range of projects, supporting urgent capacity needs in housing and healthcare in particular. The structure is designed to deliver speed, cost certainty, and reduced onsite disruption compared with traditional procurement routes.


Industry observers view the framework as evidence of broader systemic adoption of MMC in public procurement. Consistent access to such agreements provides manufacturers with the confidence to invest in technology and skills, while enabling public bodies to meet demanding timelines and net-zero targets more effectively.


This new route to market provides greater flexibility and certainty for organisations specifying modular projects, supporting efforts to meet housing and healthcare capacity needs more efficiently across the UK. The framework is described as the UK public sector’s first modular buildings agreement fully aligned with the Procurement Act 2023.


Glenigan forecast highlights social housing as key MMC opportunity in 2026


Glenigan’s latest construction forecast identifies social housing as a bright spot for underlying project starts in 2025–2026, offering a stable platform for increased MMC adoption.


Social housing starts are projected to grow by 11 per cent in both 2025 and 2026, rising from £7,502 million in 2024 to £8,356 million in 2025 and £9,249 million in 2026. This is driven by government policy priorities, retained council housing sale receipts, and renewed development activity by housing associations. This contrasts with more mixed performance in other sectors and provides the long-term certainty needed for offsite manufacturers to plan factory output.


Housing associations have been focusing their development activity on low-rise schemes while increasing use of modern methods to manage costs, timelines, and quality. Greater cost stability and increased government funding have helped associations ramp up activity this year, with frameworks and alliances smoothing ordering and supporting factory investment.


Analysts note that social housing’s resilience stems from its status as a key political priority for the current government. Additional funding commitments in spending reviews and greater access to private-sector finance are expected to support a strengthening pipeline.


Benefits such as speed of delivery, cost certainty, reduced waste, and alignment with net-zero goals are particularly attractive for social housing schemes where budgets and timelines are tightly managed. MMC offers clear advantages in these areas, helping associations deliver more homes more efficiently.


The forecast suggests sustained demand through the late 2020s as housing remains a central policy focus. This pipeline should encourage further innovation and capacity building in the modular sector, with volumetric and hybrid systems gaining further traction.


Social housing’s consistent growth positions it as a core driver for MMC expansion, helping the industry scale delivery and contribute meaningfully to national targets even in a challenging overall market.


The combination of policy support and practical efficiencies makes 2026 a promising year for offsite solutions in the affordable housing sector. Glenigan expects social housing starts to continue rising into 2027, supported by spending review commitments and private finance access.


NHS Modular Buildings 3 framework supports faster healthcare delivery


NHS Shared Business Services has launched the Modular Buildings 3 framework, a four-year agreement running to June 2029 and valued at up to £3.6 billion, to accelerate procurement of offsite solutions for healthcare and wider public sector needs.


The framework covers new-build and hire-and-lease options across multiple value bands and is open to NHS trusts as well as local authorities and other public bodies. It is designed to streamline access to modular buildings while promoting quality, sustainability, and reduced onsite disruption.


Twenty-seven modular specialists were appointed when the framework went live in June 2025, providing a compliant route for the 6 Spring 2026 M39


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