Building more homes, more quickly than its regional rivals, Vistry North East is eying a record breaking year.
Targeting 800 new properties across 15 sites, from Morpeth in the north to Guisborough in the south, the business is confident of passing £150 million turnover for the first time and continuing this growth trajectory into future years.
Key to this success are partnerships with housing associations, build to rent operators and Homes England – the government’s housing acceleration body – which enable Vistry to build out sites up to four times faster than traditional private sale only developers.
Managing Director, Sean Egan, explains: “While the speed of housebuilding is normally determined by the state of the private housing market, the pre-sale of homes to our partners across multiple tenures establishes sites much earlier and delivers far faster construction of the entire development, including our own private sale housing.
“As a result, we are building much more quickly than our competitors, establishing new places and vibrant communities at pace”.
However, speed is not being achieved at the cost of quality. Over the past year Vistry has consistently topped the monthly National House Builders Council (NHBC) quality ratings in the north east and there have been a number of awards including NHBC Pride in the Job and Premier Guarantee Quality Recognition for sites and managers.
The business also has a House Builders Federation (HBF) Five Star customer ratings, demonstrating the highest levels of customer satisfaction.
Sustainability is also at the forefront of Vistry’s thinking as a responsible developer. A significant proportion of the homes in the north east are now being delivered through the company’s three timber frame factories. The plan is to be a net zero organisation by 2040.
A lot of work is underway to further improve operational processes, including reducing waste and the environmental impact of the materials used, designing and delivering new homes that minimise greenhouse gas emissions and running costs for customers.
With three significant new projects about to begin, Vistry North East will be developing on sites that will provide 670 homes near Stockton; 660 at Kirkleatham, just outside Redcar; 441 at Morpeth; 401 at Bishop Auckland; 445 in Gateshead; 275 in Middlesbrough; 275 in Sunderland and 270 at Birtley. In addition, extra care developments providing over 300 specialist homes for older people are underway at Guisborough and Penshaw, with another due to start shortly in Morpeth.
Within this workstream the Bovis and Countryside private sale home brands will be added to the existing Linden Homes being built in the region.
“Many of these projects will provide significant regeneration which will breathe new life into areas of towns and cities that most need economic and social uplift,” adds Sean Egan: “They will create jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities, income for local businesses as well as smart new homes and green spaces which will create a sense of place.
“I don’t believe any other operator can match our quality or pace in creating desirable new places in a sustainable way. These are the hallmarks of a responsible developer that is investing in local communities.”
Vistry North East is part of the Vistry Group, the UK’s leading provider of homes for sale, shared ownership, private rent and affordable rent.
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